A
living trust is a written agreement established while you are alive.
You typically name yourself as the trustee of your trust, and another
person-typically a relative, friend, lawyer or bank trust department-as a
successor trustee to distribute the trust's assets if you die, or to
act on your behalf if you become incapacitated.
A revocable trust means the person who establishes it can change the terms of the trust at a later date if desired. An irrevocable trust, once established, cannot be changed. Setting up an `irrevocable' trust has tax advantages but they are rarely used since most people don't like to set up something they can't change later.