Creating a trust allows you to plan for the long-term future or your needs as you get older. A trust can also allow your instructions to continue affecting your property long after your death. There are many different kinds of trusts, but one of the most basic classifications depends on the permanence of the trust.
A revocable trust is one that the creator can change after they first draw up documents. They may make minor adjustments to the trust throughout their life. An irrevocable trust, on the other hand, becomes effectively set in stone when someone creates and funds it. They will not have the option to go back over it and make major changes.
When will revocable and irrevocable trusts end?
Many trusts end when they run out of assets
Revocable trusts are usually an option for those who want the protection of a trust without the long-term maintenance of one after their death. They may leave instructions for the trustee to distribute or liquidate the assets in the trust. Once that administration process is complete, the trust will effectively end.
The same is usually what happens with an irrevocable trust as well. When the trust has fulfilled all of its obligations and exhausted all of the assets used to fund it, the trust will cease to have any authority or purpose. Generally speaking, trusts that no longer contain any assets or have any legal obligations to others are often close to their end.
Sometimes testators plan for a specific end
Those passing on significant amounts of wealth or durable property may plan intentionally for the end of a trust. They might order the trustee to transfer the assets to a charity once their primary beneficiaries die. They could require that their real estate transfer to local or state authorities to become public land after family members have had quiet enjoyment of the property for a generation or two.
