revocable trust investment & finance definition

A trust that may be terminated by the grantor or that is set up to terminate automatically at a specific date. Revocable trusts are often used to turn daily decisions regarding certain assets over to someone else. They are also used to reduce probate fees, to reduce delays in distributing assets, and to keep assets from becoming a matter of public record. A revocable trust—an important estate-planning tool—may serve to reduce federal estate taxes but generally will have no effect on income taxes. Compare irrevocable trust.