- Legal vs tax
- Grantor vs non-grantor is tax. Revocable vs irrevocable is the instrument. Do not conflate them.
- Liability
- Tax status does not create a liability shield.
- Default federal tax
- grantor trust
- Other federal options
- —
- Formation / maintenance
- Follows the instrument's retained powers, not a secretary-of-state filing.
- Public-record notes
- Irrelevant to public-record ranking by itself.
- Succession
- Depends on the underlying trust.
- Investor fit
- Grantor-trust founder vehicles are common; document them.
Disqualifiers
- Assuming irrevocable always means non-grantor
Professional review: cpa, attorney.