Q. Can an irrevocable trust be revoked?— Planning
A. Let’s go over how trusts work.
A trust can be revocable or irrevocable.
A revocable trust is a living trust that is established pursuant to a written agreement between the person creating the trust- (also known as the grantor or settlor - and the trustee who will manage the assets in the trust, said Shirley Whitenack, an estate planning attorney with Schenck, Price, Smith & King in Florham Park.
She said the person who creates the trust can also be the trustee.
The trust agreement may provide that the grantor can revoke or dissolve the trust.
But with an irrevocable trust, the grantor does not reserve the right to revoke the trust, she said.
“However, an irrevocable trust may still be revoked pursuant to New Jersey’s adaptation of the Uniform Trust Code,” Whitenack said. “An irrevocable trust may be terminated by consent of the trustee and the beneficiaries.”
Also, she said, an irrevocable trust may be terminated by a court as long as the termination is not inconsistent with a material purpose of the trust.
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Karin Price Mueller writes the Bamboozled column for NJ Advance Media and is the founder of NJMoneyHelp.com. Follow NJMoneyHelp on Twitter @NJMoneyHelp. Find NJMoneyHelp on Facebook. Sign up for NJMoneyHelp.com’s weekly e-newsletter.