Why would I want to sell assets to the trust?

Irrevocable trusts are often set up as grantor trusts, which simply means that they are not recognized for income tax purposes (all of the income tax attributes of the trust, such as income, loss, gains, etc. is passed on to the grantor of the trust). The trust can therefore purchase a grantor’s asset for immediate payment or on an installment basis, with no recognition of gain and no gift tax consequences. The sale of an asset to an irrevocable trust is often recommended if the asset to be transferred is a life insurance policy, or if the asset is in excess of the annual exclusion amount and is expected to appreciate rapidly.