Is a family trust the same thing as a revocable living trust

LOCATION: All States in the US

Family trust isn't a legal term. It's just a nickname for a trust that benefits family members. Most of the time, when someone says family trust, they're talking about a revocable living trust.

That means you set it up while you're alive, you control it, you can change it whenever you want, and it skips probate when you die. Sometimes people call an irrevocable trust a family trust too, if it benefits the family, but that's a different setup. You give up control with those.

The name doesn't matter legally. If your attorney says family trust, just ask whether it's revocable or irrevocable. That's the part that actually matters.