Atlanta Irrevocable Trust Attorney

An irrevocable trust is a legal entity that holds assets permanently. You cannot take them back or change the terms after the trust is signed and funded. That permanence is what creates the legal and financial protections. Because you have given up ownership and control of the assets, they are not counted as yours for Medicaid, estate tax, or creditor purposes, subject to applicable rules and lookback periods. The trustee you name manages the assets according to the trust terms. The beneficiaries you designate receive the assets at your death or according to the distribution terms you set.

Generally no. An irrevocable trust cannot be modified or revoked by the grantor after it is signed. That is the defining feature. Some irrevocable trusts include provisions for decanting (moving assets into a new trust with modified terms), and Georgia law allows some modification with court approval and beneficiary consent. But these are narrow exceptions, not a general ability to change the trust. Before signing any irrevocable trust, you should be certain of the terms, the trustee, and the beneficiary designations, because changing them later requires significant legal process.

A revocable trust can be changed or terminated by the grantor at any time. It avoids probate but does not remove assets from your estate. They still count for Medicaid and estate tax. An irrevocable trust cannot be changed after signing. It does remove assets from your estate. With a Medicaid asset protection trust, Medicaid generally does not count the trust’s principal after five years. Your creditors can still reach whatever an irrevocable trust could pay to you or for you, and no trust is a guarantee. The trade-off is control. A revocable trust gives you complete flexibility. An irrevocable trust gives you protection that flexibility alone cannot provide.

An irrevocable trust can help with Medicaid in Georgia because you give up the right to take the principal back. When you ask Medicaid to pay for nursing home care, Medicaid looks back five years (60 months). Assets you moved into the trust more than five years before that are outside the lookback, so that move causes no transfer penalty. If you moved them less than five years before, the full value counts toward the penalty. You do not get credit for the time that has passed. After five years, Medicaid generally does not count the trust’s principal when it decides if you qualify. Any income the trust pays you still counts as your income. No trust is a guarantee.

Georgia residents commonly use several types of irrevocable trusts depending on their goals. A Medicaid asset protection trust (MAPT) is built for nursing home planning. After five years, Medicaid generally does not count its principal. An irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) holds a life insurance policy outside your taxable estate so the proceeds pass to heirs without estate tax. A spousal lifetime access trust (SLAT) removes assets from your estate while allowing your spouse to receive distributions. A special needs trust preserves assets for a beneficiary with disabilities without disqualifying them from government benefits. The right structure depends on your specific estate, tax situation, and planning goals. We assess all of them before recommending a structure.