
Editor’s note: This is part 11 of an ongoing series about using trusts and LLCs in estate planning, asset protection and tax planning. The effectiveness of these powerful tools — especially for asset protection and tax planning — depends very much on how they are configured to work together and whether certain types of control over assets and property are surrendered by the property owner. See below for links to the other articles in the series.
Some trust makers and taxpayers have been confused about, or perhaps in denial of, the tradeoffs between control over assets and the capital gains tax planning potential of irrevocable trusts.