How to Set Up Your Own Irrevocable Trust Without an Attorney

Key Takeaways

• The law's requirements are short. In Wyoming, a trust is created only if the settlor has capacity, intends to create it, names a definite beneficiary, gives the trustee duties, and is not the sole trustee and sole beneficiary (W.S. § 4-10-403(a)).
• The word "irrevocable" has to be in the document. Unless the terms expressly say the trust is irrevocable, the settlor may revoke or amend it (W.S. § 4-10-602(a)).
• The writing is not the hardest part. The decisions and the follow through are: naming who owns and who stewards next, funding the trust so the papers match reality, and writing it all down.
• There are eleven steps, from the declaration of trust to operating in trust, and each one matches a lesson in our Trust Creation Course.
• The trust needs its own EIN and bank account. The IRS says that generally you will need an EIN for each trust.
• Funding is where most of the work is. A trust holds only what has been moved into its name.
• Doing it yourself costs $497 for the Course; the done for you paths are $3,000, $3,589 and $6,500, one time.

What the law requires before you begin

Every state sets its own rules for creating a trust, and those rules are usually short. Wyoming lists its requirements in one section. A trust is created only if (W.S. § 4-10-403(a)):

1. The settlor has capacity to create a trust.
2. The settlor indicates an intention to create the trust.
3. The trust has a definite beneficiary, or is a charitable trust or another kind of trust the code allows without one.
4. The trustee has duties to perform.
5. The same person is not the sole trustee and the sole beneficiary.

A beneficiary is definite if the beneficiary can be ascertained now or in the future (W.S. § 4-10-403(b)). That is why a trust can name "the settlors' offspring" as a class, including offspring not yet born.

Wyoming also names the ways a trust can be created (W.S. § 4-10-401). One is a transfer of property to a trustee during the settlor's life. Another is a declaration by the owner of property that the owner holds it as trustee. A third is the exercise of a power of appointment in favor of a trustee.

One more rule matters for anyone who wants permanence. Unless the terms of a trust expressly provide that it is irrevocable, the settlor may revoke or amend it (W.S. § 4-10-602(a)). If you want an irrevocable trust, the document has to say so in plain words.

If your trust will be governed by the law of another state, read that state's code for the same points. The ideas are similar across states that follow the Uniform Trust Code, but the details and the section numbers differ. You can read more about what an irrevocable trust is and how it compares with other kinds of trusts.

Step 1: Write the declaration and the settlors' intent

The declaration is the opening of the trust document. It names the settlors (the people creating the trust), names the trust, and states that the settlors are creating it. Under W.S. § 4-10-403(a), the settlor has to indicate an intention to create the trust, and the declaration is where that intention is written down.

A statement of the settlors' intent goes further. It says why the trust exists. Families write it in their own words, and it does real work later. When a future trustee faces a question the document does not answer, the statement of intent tells that trustee what the settlors were trying to build.

A strong statement of intent usually covers:

• Duration. How long the settlors want the trust to last. In Wyoming, a trust that meets the conditions of W.S. § 34-1-139(b) may continue for up to 1,000 years.
• Purpose. What the trust is for: holding the family's property together, teaching stewardship, providing for offspring, giving, or all of these.
• Privacy. Whether the settlors want the trust and its beneficiaries kept quiet.
• Faith and values. Many families name the convictions that shape the house, so the trustees who come later know what the settlors cared about.

Write the intent before anything else. Every later decision will be easier because you have already said what the trust is for.

Step 2: Set the creation, nature and purpose of the trust

The next part of the document states what kind of trust this is. Here you say, in plain words, that the trust is irrevocable (W.S. § 4-10-602(a)). You name the law that governs the trust and where it will be administered. You state the trust's purpose in operating terms, which turns the statement of intent into rules a trustee can follow.

Three choices belong here:

• Irrevocable or revocable. If the trust is meant to be irrevocable, the document must say so.
• Governing law. Which state's law governs the trust. Many families choose Wyoming for its long trust duration, its recognition of spendthrift provisions (W.S. § 4-10-502) and its directed trust rules (W.S. § 4-10-718). Our Wyoming dynasty trust page compares Wyoming with other states.
• Duration. A trust governed by Wyoming law may continue for up to 1,000 years if the trustee maintains a place of business in Wyoming, administers the trust in Wyoming, or is a Wyoming resident, and the trust's terms meet the other conditions of W.S. § 34-1-139(b).

Step 3: Name the trustees, the board, and who comes next

A trust is only as steady as the people who serve it. This step names them. The law requires that the trustee have duties to perform, and that the same person not be the sole trustee and the sole beneficiary (W.S. § 4-10-403(a)). Within those rules, a family has wide choices.

In a family controlled and directed trust, family members serve in the trust's offices. Our sample charter divides the fiduciary duties among four family offices: Ministerial, Investment, Distribution, and the Board of Sacred Stewards. Dividing the work this way keeps any one person from carrying everything, and it lets each office be filled by the family member best suited to it.

The Board of Sacred Stewards serves as the trust protector. In our documents it holds powers such as moving the trust's home (its situs), amending administrative terms, and vetoing trustee actions. A trust written today and meant to last for generations will outlive the laws it was written under, and a protector with these powers lets the trust adapt without being unwritten.

Then write who comes next. For every office, name a line of successors. Our sample charter provides a durable family succession of the fiduciary offices, with a contingent, temporary outside successor trustee only if no adult beneficiary is able to serve. Ask, for each office: who serves now, who serves next, and who chooses if that line runs out?

Step 4: Name the beneficiaries and set the quiet trust terms

The beneficiaries are the people the trust is for. Many families name a class, such as the settlors' offspring and their descendants, instead of a list of names. A class lets the trust include offspring who are not yet born, and it meets the law's rule that a beneficiary can be ascertained now or in the future (W.S. § 4-10-403(b)).

Write a clear definition of who belongs to the class. Decide how the trust treats offspring by adoption, and what happens if a beneficiary marries. Families who have no offspring yet can still create the trust now and describe who will benefit as the family grows.

Then decide how much the beneficiaries are told and when. A quiet trust provision lets the trustees keep the trust and its terms from a beneficiary until a set age or event. Many families use it so a young person can build a life of their own before learning what is held for the family. Wyoming law addresses how and when beneficiaries are informed, so read the governing state's rules on notice as you write this part. Our creative trust provisions page explains the quiet trust in depth.

Step 5: Decide the distribution provisions

Distribution provisions say how property leaves the trust, if it ever does. This is where a family's values show most clearly.

The main choice is between fixed payouts and discretion. A fixed payout says "pay each beneficiary this amount at this age." A discretionary provision lets the trustees decide whether, when and how much to distribute, and among whom. Our sample charter uses fully discretionary distributions: no beneficiary has a right to demand a dollar, and the trustees may spray or accumulate among a class of beneficiaries. A provision like this is designed to make a beneficiary's interest harder for a creditor or an ex spouse to reach than a scheduled payout would be.

Pair discretion with a spendthrift provision. A spendthrift clause is designed to stop a beneficiary from selling or pledging an interest in the trust, and to stop a creditor from reaching it before it is distributed. Wyoming recognizes spendthrift provisions (W.S. § 4-10-502).

Discretion asks a great deal of the trustees, so give them written principles. A share and succession process sets out how a beneficiary asks for something beyond ordinary support, how the trustees weigh the request, and how a beneficiary's share continues to the next generation. Written principles help every request be weighed the same way.

Step 6: Choose the creative provisions that fit your house

Beyond the structure, a long lasting trust needs operating rules: how the family bank lends, what happens to a home the trust owns, how the trust responds when a beneficiary is struggling. These are the creative provisions. We count 28 of them: the 28 items in our sample Dynasty Architecture charter.

You do not need all 28. Choose the few that answer the questions your family cares about most. A short list to start from, each with its item number in our sample charter:

• Quiet trust (item 14). Beneficiaries learn of the trust at a time the family chooses.
• Board of Sacred Stewards as trust protector (item 1). Situs, amendment and veto powers, so the trust can adapt.
• Generational Wealth Preservation Rider (item 21). Family distribution principles, matching income and "family bank" incentives, and an annual spending cap.
• Discretionary distributions (item 7). No right to demand a dollar.
• Family Homestead Rider (item 28). The trust can keep homes and give beneficiaries use rights, not title.
• No contest provision (item 23). A beneficiary who takes the trust to a public court gives up a share.
• Founder No Descendants Yet Rider (item 25). A single founder or a couple with no offspring yet can set up the trust now.

Our creative trust provisions page explains all 28. Whether any provision works as designed depends on the law that governs the trust and on how it is written.

Step 7: Plan for digital assets

If the family holds cryptocurrency or other digital property, plan for it in the document. Digital assets raise questions paper assets do not: who holds the keys, how the trustees get access, how the trust records what it owns, and how the holdings pass to the next steward.

Write down how the trust will hold each kind of digital asset, who has authority to act, and where the instructions are kept. Many families hold digital assets through an entity the trust owns, with a written custody and management agreement and a memorandum of instructions. Our trusts for digital assets page explains the options.

Step 8: Write the bylaws and governance

The trust document sets the rules. The bylaws say how the family runs the house day to day: when the offices meet, how decisions are made and recorded, how a new trustee is installed, and how disagreements are settled inside the family.

Good governance usually includes:

• A meeting rhythm. When the trustees and the Board of Sacred Stewards meet, at least once a year.
• Minutes. A written record of every decision, signed and kept with the trust records.
• Voting rules. How each office decides, and what happens when its members cannot agree.
• Installing successors. How a successor accepts an office, in writing.
• A family council. Many families gather the next generation so they can learn stewardship before they serve.

Bylaws are what let a trust outlive the people who wrote it. They are how the next steward is handed a plan, not a puzzle.

Step 9: Sign, get the EIN, and open the trust's bank account

When the document is written, the settlors and the first trustees sign it. Follow the signing formalities your document and your state call for, and keep the signed original with the trust records.

Next, the trust needs its own identity with the IRS. The IRS says that generally you will need an employer identification number (EIN) for each trust. The trustee applies for it in the trust's name. How the trust is taxed depends on how the trust is designed; IRS Publication 559 and the instructions for Form 1041 are where the federal rules are explained.

With the signed document and the EIN, the trustees open a bank account in the trust's name. Our sample charter calls for a special deposit account set up so the trust remains the "Account Owner," never the "Account Holder." Banks have their own requirements for trust accounts, so ask your bank what it needs before you go in. Many ask for the trust document or a certification of trust, the EIN, and identification for each trustee.

Step 10: Fund the trust, asset by asset

A trust holds only what has been moved into its name. Funding is the step most often left unfinished, and it is where most of the work is. Make a list of every asset you intend the trust to hold, then move each one and record it.

1. Bank and brokerage accounts. Open new accounts in the trust's name, or retitle existing ones, following each institution's process.
2. Real estate. Transfer title to the trustee by deed, recorded in the county where the property sits. Check with your lender and your insurer before you transfer a property that has a mortgage or a policy on it.
3. Business interests. Assign membership interests or shares to the trust in writing, and update the company's records to show the trust as owner.
4. Personal property. Assign items such as heirlooms, art and equipment by a written assignment, with a schedule that lists each item.
5. Digital assets. Move holdings to accounts or wallets the trust controls, following the plan from Step 7.
6. Property received later. Write a rule for new property. Our sample charter includes a mandatory sweep of newly received money and assets into the trust's private layer.

Keep a funding record for every asset: what moved, when, and the document that moved it. The goal is simple: the papers should match reality. Our irrevocable family trust page has more on funding.

Step 11: Operate in trust and keep the records

Once the trust is funded, the family lives in trust. The trustees act in the trust's name, sign as trustees, keep the trust's money separate from their own, and record every decision.

Operating well means:

• Separate accounts. The trust's money stays in the trust's accounts. Personal expenses are never paid from them.
• Signing as trustee. Contracts and accounts are signed in the trust's name, by a trustee acting in that office.
• Records. Minutes, the funding record, distribution requests and decisions, and the yearly accounts are kept together.
• Business in trust. If the trust owns a business, the business keeps its own books, and the trust acts as its owner through the offices the document names.
• A yearly review. Once a year, the trustees read the document again, confirm who serves in each office, update the funding record, and hold the family council.

What a family has to get right on the do it yourself path

It can be done, and the structure itself can stay simple. The writing is not the hardest part; the decisions and the follow through are. An irrevocable trust is not a form you fill once and forget. The do it yourself path asks three things of a family:

1. Name who owns and who stewards next. Name the settlors, the trustees, the successor trustees, and the beneficiaries, such as your offspring, so it is plain who owns and who stewards next.
2. Fund the trust so the papers match reality. Retitle accounts and assign other assets into the trust's name, keeping a record of each.
3. Write it all down. Write the decisions, the bylaws and the records so the next steward is handed a plan, not a puzzle.

A family that does these three things well has done the heart of the work.

When doing it yourself is more than a family wants to carry

Writing your own trust takes time, care and attention to detail. Some families find they would rather spend that time elsewhere, or they hold property such as a working business, land in more than one state, or digital assets that make the document longer. That is not a reason to worry; it is simply a choice about who does the writing.

If you would rather have the trust written for your house, the Legacy Folio ($3,000) is our done for you Family Legacy Trust. Either way, the decisions on this page are the same ones, and a family that understands them will steward better.

What the Trust Creation Course includes

The Trust Creation Course (the Family Legacy Trust Creation Guide) is 23 video lessons, about 3 hours 15 minutes in all, each with a transcript and a notes PDF, plus the printable Family Legacy Trust DIY Workbook with its checklists. It opens with the biblical foundation of a family trust and what a trust can do, then walks through the trust document article by article, and closes with the practical steps: the EIN, the bank account, transferring property and operating in trust. The lessons follow the eleven steps on this page. You move through it at your own pace. It is $497, one time.

Your path

1. Read this page together. Talk through the eleven steps at the table and pray over the decision.
2. Begin the Course. Take the lessons a step at a time, writing your decisions as you go.
3. Write and sign your trust. Draft the declaration, the articles and the bylaws, then sign.
4. Get the EIN and open the account. Give the trust its own identity and its own bank account.
5. Fund it and keep the house. Move your property into the trust, keep the records from the first day, and hold your first family council.

Frequently asked questions