A plain-English overview of the trust categories you may hear about from your attorney, how they differ at a concept level, and how the attorney, CPA and financial advisor each fit in. It is educational and does not recommend any structure.
Estate Structure Guide · Updated October 2026
Massachusetts families most often hear about revocable and irrevocable trusts, living and testamentary trusts, credit shelter (A/B) trusts, and QTIP trusts, along with charitable and special-needs trusts. An attorney drafts each one, and a CPA reviews the tax effects. This guide explains the categories only and does not recommend any structure.
Key takeaways
| Trust type | General idea | A trade-off to ask about |
|---|---|---|
| Revocable | The person who created it may generally change or end it | May offer less separation from the creator's own estate |
| Irrevocable | Generally cannot be changed or ended easily once it is created | May limit control and flexibility |
| Living (inter vivos) | Created and signed during your lifetime | May need assets retitled into it to work as drafted |
| Testamentary | Created by a will and takes effect after death | May involve the probate court process |
| Credit shelter (A/B) | May use the first spouse's available exemption | May add administration and limit the survivor's access |
| QTIP (marital) | May qualify for the marital deduction while the first spouse names the remainder beneficiaries | Generally included in the survivor's estate, so it may defer tax rather than remove it |
The two labels answer different questions. “Living” says when the trust is created, which is during your lifetime. “Revocable” or “irrevocable” says whether it can be changed afterward. Many living trusts are revocable, so people often use the words interchangeably, but a living trust may also be irrevocable. The practical difference is usually control versus separation.
Whether any trust is treated as inside or outside an estate depends on its exact terms and the law in effect, so this is a topic for your attorney and CPA.
A living trust is signed while you are alive and may take effect right away. A testamentary trust is written into a will and is created only after death, so the will generally has to go through the probate process first. Some families use a living trust to manage assets during life and at death. Others use a will with testamentary trusts, for example to hold an inheritance for a younger beneficiary. Each path may bring different cost, timing, and privacy considerations, and your attorney can explain how Massachusetts procedures apply to your documents.
Because a living trust may only govern what it holds, a signed document is not the end of the process. Read how a Massachusetts trust may be funded and who coordinates each step for the account-by-account follow-through.
These two terms come up most often for married couples with larger estates. A credit shelter trust, also called a bypass or family trust, may hold assets up to the first spouse's available exemption so that exemption is not unused. A QTIP (qualified terminable interest property) trust may hold the remaining assets, may qualify for the marital deduction if the requirements and election are met, and generally lets the first spouse decide who receives the remainder after the survivor. Together, they are often described as an A/B arrangement, though either may be used on its own and an attorney may design them in other ways.
For the structure and a worked example, read how a credit shelter or A/B trust may use both spouses' Massachusetts estate tax exemptions. For the marital trust piece, see what a QTIP trust is and what the requirements may be.
The threshold is one reason these categories come up in Massachusetts. According to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, a Massachusetts estate tax return is generally required for a decedent dying on or after January 1, 2023 when the gross estate plus adjusted taxable gifts exceeds $2,000,000, and a credit of $99,600 may reduce the tax. Whether any tax is due, and whether a particular trust type would change that result, depends on the size of the estate, the document terms, elections, and the law at the time.
Source: Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Estate Tax Guide (page updated April 23, 2026). Verified against mass.gov as of October 14, 2026. Thresholds, credits and calculation steps may change, and the tax for any estate is a question for your attorney and CPA.
To organize a general estimate before you speak with your professionals, use the Massachusetts estate tax calculator, an educational tool and not legal or tax advice. For the wider picture, see the Massachusetts estate planning guide.
A grantor trust is a trust whose income is generally taxed to the person who created it (the grantor), or to another person treated as its owner, under federal income tax rules. A revocable living trust is commonly a grantor trust, and some irrevocable trusts are drafted to be grantor trusts as well. The label is about income tax treatment, not about whether a trust is revocable. Your CPA can explain how the rules apply to a specific trust.
Source: 26 U.S.C. §671 and related sections, Cornell Legal Information Institute. Reviewed October 14, 2026. Rules may change.
A spendthrift trust includes a provision that limits a beneficiary's ability to transfer an interest in the trust, and may limit creditors' ability to reach it before a distribution is made. Families sometimes ask about this feature when a beneficiary is young or when a trustee, rather than the beneficiary, may need to control timing. State law sets limits on how far these provisions go, and a trustee adds administration and cost. Ask your attorney whether any trust you are considering includes it.
A charitable trust is a trust set up to benefit a charity. Charitable remainder and charitable lead trusts are two commonly discussed categories. In a charitable remainder trust, individuals may receive payments for a period before the remainder goes to charity. In a charitable lead trust, a charity may receive payments for a period before the remainder goes to family or other beneficiaries. Both involve specific rules, generally irrevocable decisions, and tax reporting, so they are typically reviewed with an attorney and CPA well before any assets are transferred.
A special-needs trust is a category of trust that may be drafted so a beneficiary with a disability can receive support without necessarily affecting eligibility for means-tested government benefits. Eligibility rules are detailed and change over time, and drafting errors may have consequences, so this is a topic for an attorney with experience in that area.
Drafting, funding, and maintaining a trust may take legal fees, time, and ongoing recordkeeping. Some trusts may also need their own tax filings.
The more a trust is meant to stand apart from you, the less easily it may be changed if your circumstances shift.
Federal and Massachusetts rules may change, and an older document may not fit current thresholds the way it was first intended.
An unfunded or partly funded trust may not control the assets you expected it to, and retirement accounts raise their own beneficiary questions. See how retirement income planning may coordinate with IRA and plan beneficiary decisions.
Michael Cammarata, CFP®, is not an attorney or CPA and does not draft trusts, give legal or tax advice, or prepare tax returns. His role is to coordinate the financial side of the work with the professionals you choose. If you need an introduction, he can offer one from a network of independent Massachusetts professionals, and you decide whom to engage. Read more about how a financial advisor coordinates estate planning with your attorney and CPA.
Your attorney explains the options the law may allow and drafts and finalizes any trust or will.
Your CPA reviews income, gift, and estate tax effects and handles any tax filings the trust may require.
The advisor organizes account information and follows the retitling and beneficiary changes the attorney specifies, noting open items for the CPA.
Family, asset values, and tax rules change, which may call for another look with your professionals.
These questions are educational starting points. Your professionals can answer them for your situation.
This guide cannot recommend a trust for any household. Which structure, if any, may fit depends on your goals, family, assets, and the federal and Massachusetts rules in effect, and it is a decision for you, your attorney, and your CPA. The guide describes categories so you can ask better questions.
No. An attorney drafts and finalizes trust documents, and a CPA advises on tax filings and tax effects. A financial advisor, such as Michael Cammarata, CFP®, may coordinate the financial information, account titling, and follow-up among those professionals. He is not an attorney or CPA and does not draft legal documents.
Often, but not always. A living trust is created during your lifetime, and many living trusts are revocable, meaning the person who created the trust may generally change or end it. A living trust can also be irrevocable. Your attorney can explain which features your documents actually include.
Not necessarily. A trust may only govern the assets that are retitled into it or that name it through a beneficiary designation. Funding is a separate follow-through step, and gaps may mean an asset passes under a will, a beneficiary designation, or state default rules instead.
This guide is for educational purposes only and does not constitute individualized legal, tax, or investment advice. It does not recommend any trust or structure for any reader. Investment advisory services are offered through MSA Financial, LLC, a Registered Investment Adviser (CRD #107768). MSA Financial is an SEC-registered investment adviser. Registration with the SEC does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal. Michael Cammarata is not an attorney or CPA and does not provide legal or tax advice. He does not draft legal documents or prepare tax returns. He coordinates with clients' existing estate attorneys and CPAs. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances, and legal and tax advice should be obtained from your own attorney and CPA. The Massachusetts estate tax figures were verified against mass.gov as of October 14, 2026 and may change.