At common law, all trusts are _________ unless the power to revoke is in the document.

At common law, all trusts are _________ unless the power to revoke is in the document.

• A. Revocable
• B. Irrevocable
• C. Personal
• D. Trusteed

Answer: (B)

At common law, the default is that a trust is irrevocable unless the document grants a power to revoke. The sentence mirrors that rule: if the instrument includes a revocation power, the trust can be revoked; without such a power, it remains irrevocable. So the word that fits the blank is irrevocable. The idea behind this is control—a revocation clause gives the settlor a way to reclaim the property, while lacking one means the settlor cannot undo the transfer. Revocable would only apply if there’s a revocation power, while terms like personal or trusteed don’t address whether the trust can be ended or altered.

At common law, the default is that a trust is irrevocable unless the document grants a power to revoke. The sentence mirrors that rule: if the instrument includes a revocation power, the trust can be revoked; without such a power, it remains irrevocable. So the word that fits the blank is irrevocable. The idea behind this is control—a revocation clause gives the settlor a way to reclaim the property, while lacking one means the settlor cannot undo the transfer. Revocable would only apply if there’s a revocation power, while terms like personal or trusteed don’t address whether the trust can be ended or altered.