What is the difference between a revocable and an irrevocable living trust?

A revocable living trust can be changed, amended, or dissolved by you at any time while you're alive and competent. You keep full control, the assets remain part of your taxable estate, and its main benefits are avoiding probate and providing incapacity management. An irrevocable trust, by contrast, generally cannot be altered once created, and you give up control of the assets you transfer in. In exchange, those assets typically leave your taxable estate and can gain protection from creditors and lawsuits. Most people who create a trust use a revocable one for probate avoidance; irrevocable trusts are for advanced goals like estate-tax reduction, asset protection, or special-needs planning. The right choice depends on whether control or tax and creditor benefits matter more.