Introduction
Key takeaways
A private family trust lets you (the settlor) transfer assets to trustees, who manage them for your family (the beneficiaries) under a trust deed - during your life, through incapacity, and after death.
Its real value is control, protection and continuity - not tax saving. India has no estate or inheritance tax.
The two choices that drive everything are revocable vs irrevocable and specific vs discretionary - they decide both protection and how the trust is taxed.
Probate is no longer mandatory anywhere in India after the 2025 omission of Section 213 - so "avoiding probate" is not the reason to use a trust.
Main costs are drafting, stamp duty (state-wise, higher for immovable property) and registration; a trust is not automatically private once the deed is registered.