irrevocable trustn.//ɪˈrɛvəkəbəl/ (ih-REV-uh-kuh-buhl) but usually /ˌɪrəˈvoʊkəbəl/ (ir-ruh-VOH-kuh-buhl)/

An irrevocable trust is a trust that, once established, generally cannot be amended or revoked by the settlor. By relinquishing control and ownership of the transferred assets, the settlor can achieve goals a revocable trust cannot, such as removing assets from the taxable estate, protecting them from creditors, or qualifying for benefits.

The trade-off is loss of control: the settlor typically cannot freely take the assets back. Many irrevocable trusts include built-in flexibility (such as trust protectors or powers of appointment) to adapt to changing circumstances.

A frequent misconception is that assets placed in an irrevocable trust are frozen and can never be sold or spent. They can. Acting under the trust's terms and a fiduciary duty, the trustee can buy, sell, and reinvest trust property in the ordinary course of administration. When the trustee sells an asset, for example the family home, the proceeds stay in the trust, and the trustee can apply them for a beneficiary's care to the extent the trust allows, which commonly includes the beneficiary's health, support, and maintenance. So a beneficiary who has become incapacitated can still be looked after from the trust: the house is sold, the proceeds remain trust property, and the trustee uses them for that beneficiary under the trust's distribution terms.

One qualifier: where a trust was designed to preserve a beneficiary's eligibility for needs-based public benefits, such as Medicaid or SSI, distributions must follow those program rules, so care expenses are coordinated with that purpose rather than paid out freely.

In short, irrevocability constrains the settlor (also called the grantor): it removes their power to revoke, rewrite, or reclaim, not the trustee's authority to manage the assets or the beneficiaries' ability to be cared for from them.