What Is a Grantor? Roles, Types and Estate Planning

What does grantor mean?

A grantor is a person who transfers their assets into a trust. The assets are managed by a trustee on behalf of the trust's beneficiaries and/or the grantor.

• Trusts may help a grantor transfer assets more easily upon their death, can reduce probate costs and could help protect their assets in case they are incapacitated later.

• The term “grantor” is sometimes also used for other transfers of property, such as gifts and sales.

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Grantor responsibilities

The grantor's role includes:

• Creating and funding a trust. The grantor works with an estate planning attorney or uses online estate planning software to set up a trust and title their assets in the trust’s name. Transferring assets to a trust may make the grantor subject to gift tax^[0]

  Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute. grantor. Accessed Sep 17, 2025.

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• Naming a trustee. A grantor designates a trustee to administer the assets in the trust (unless they’re serving as their own trustee, which is called a grantor trust). A trustee can be a person, bank or trust company. If the grantor gives up control of the assets, the trust usually counts as a separate tax entity in the eyes of the IRS, which may reduce the grantor’s estate taxes.

• Naming beneficiaries, also called grantees, who receive the assets of the trust. These can be people, businesses or charities.

» Learn more: When to create a will vs. a trust

Grantor trust

A grantor trust is a trust in which the grantor is also the trustee and keeps ownership of the property in it for income and estate tax purposes. Grantor trusts can be revocable or irrevocable, depending on whether the grantor wants to be able to make changes in the future.

• Revocable trusts are grantor trusts by definition because the grantor keeps control of the assets and can change the terms of the trust at any time. These trusts can help you bypass probate but not estate taxes.

• Irrevocable trusts are trusts you can’t change once they’re signed and funded. Irrevocable trusts can be grantor trusts if certain conditions set by the IRS are met. The IRS calls this an “intentionally defective grantor trust” and requires the grantor to pay the trust’s income tax.

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Though a grantor trust is usually considered part of the grantor’s taxable estate, the trust is usually taxed at the grantor’s income tax rate, which can be lower than the trust’s income tax rate^[0]

» Learn more: Grantor retained annuity trusts

Grantor vs. grantee

The difference between a grantor and a grantee is whether they give property or receive it. A grantor creates a trust and gives away assets through it, while a grantee receives the assets, usually once the grantor dies^[0]

Grantor vs. trustee

The difference between a grantor and a trustee is that a grantor owns the assets in a trust, while the trustee manages them. A grantor has assets they pass into a trust and eventually to its beneficiaries, while a trustee manages those assets and eventually distributes them to the beneficiaries.