What is an irrevocable trust?

An irrevocable trust is a trust that generally can't be changed or undone once it's created, because you give up control of the assets you put into it. People use them to protect assets, reduce estate taxes, or qualify for certain benefits like Medicaid. The tradeoff is that you lose the flexibility you'd have with a revocable trust. Because the assets leave your control, they're often shielded from creditors and removed from your taxable estate.