“Living Trust” Describes When It Works — Not What Kind of Trust It Is

“Living trust” is one of the most misunderstood phrases in estate planning, mostly because it’s used inconsistently. Technically, a living trust (or inter vivos trust) is simply any trust created and effective during your lifetime, as opposed to a testamentary trust created by your will and effective only after death. In practice, when people say “living trust,” they almost always mean a revocable living trust — the probate-avoidance tool described in detail on our Revocable Trusts page.

This page exists because the search term is common enough to deserve a direct, honest answer: if you’re researching “living trusts” for probate avoidance or incapacity planning, you want our Revocable Trusts page. If you’re researching “living trust” because you’ve heard it can protect assets from creditors, lawsuits, or Medicaid, the tool you actually need is an irrevocable trust — living trusts, by definition, can be changed or revoked, which is exactly why they offer no asset protection.