The amount of control a grantor retains over a trust depends on the purpose of the trust. If the purpose of the trust is to move the assets out of the grantor’s estate for creditor protection or to avoid estate tax, then the grantor has less control over the trust assets. Other trusts are treated as a disregarded entity, so the grantor has total control. Some trusts place control in a spouse or child. Even an irrevocable trust is not truly irrevocable.