Elderly Guardianship refers to a situation where a court appoints an individual as a legal guardian for an elderly person who is deemed to be incapacitated, whether partly or fully.…

Surplus personal estate is that part of the personal property in the estate of a decedent which remains after the payment of expenses of administration and debts, including taxes, for…

Domicile is the state where the decedent lived before his/ her passing. Estate situated in the state of deceased’s permanent residence is domiciliary estate. It is the place to which…

A trust is the legal relationship between one person, the trustee, having an equitable ownership or management of certain property and another person, the beneficiary, owning the legal title to…

The person who manages a trust, the trustee, has a legal duty to manage the trust’s assets in the best interests of the beneficiary or beneficiaries. Typical trustee duties include…

Trustee Ad Litem is a trustee appointed by the court.

A trustor is the person who creates a trust. A trustor is also called a grantor, donor or settlor. A trust is a separate legal entity that holds property or…

What is a Trust? A Trust is an entity which owns assets for the benefit of a third person (beneficiary). A Living Trust is an effective way to provide lifetime…

Under 65 trusts are trusts established for the sole benefit of a Medicaid recipient who is under the age of 65. Any person who is under 65 and not a…

Unit Investment trust is a trust in which funds are pooled and invested in income-producing securities. Units of the trust are sold to investors, who maintain an interest in the…

Voluntary trust is a type of living trust that is not founded on consideration. The person setting up the trust retains legal title of the gift transferred to the beneficiary,…

Wasting trust refers to a trust in which the trust property is gradually depleted by periodic payments to the beneficiary. Such trusts allow the trustee to use part of the…

Support trust is a trust where the trustee is to provide for the beneficiary’s support. The trustee provides for food, clothing, and shelter etc. A support trust can be a…

Technical trust refers to a trust in which no active management is required by the trustee. The trustee is only required to hold title to the property. Technical trusts are…

Termination of trust is the termination of the relationship of trustee and beneficiary compliant with the limitations or conditions of the trust, although not before the trustee has accounted to…

The phrase ‘terms of the trust’ means the manifestation of intention of the settler with respect to the trust provisions. It is expressed in a manner that admits its proof…

A testamentary trust is a legal entity created as specified in a person’s will which takes effect when the settlor dies. It is a trust created by the terms of…

Totten trust is a revocable trust created during the lifetime of the Grantor by depositing money, typically in a savings account, in the grantor’s name as trustee for another. When…

A trust is a separate legal entity that holds property or assets of some kind for the benefit of a specific person, group of people or organization known as the…

The term trust funds means “funds held by an insured depository institution in a fiduciary capacity and includes, without being limited to, funds held as trustee, executor, administrator, guardian, or…

A trust protector is a person appointed to protect trustees in relation to their administration of the trust. S/he directs and restrains the trustees in their trust management. A trust…

A restatement of a revocable living trust revises or amends a trust’s provisions. A restatement of trust completely replaces and supercedes all provisions of the original revocable living trust it…

Transgressive trust refers to a trust that violates the rule against perpetuities. Rule against perpetuities prohibits the grant of an estate where the persons entitled to inherit a future interest…

Rule against Trusts of Perpetual Duration is a rule that prohibits noncharitable trusts from lasting beyond the perpetuity period, i.e. a lifetime presently existing plus a period of 21 years.…

A resulting trust arises where although legal title is vested in a trustee, equitable title becomes vested in the settlor. It is a legal fiction designed to prevent unjust enrichment.…

A Trust is an entity which owns assets for the benefit of a third person (beneficiary). A Living Trust is an effective way to provide lifetime and after-death property management…

Revocable trust is a trust that can be modified or revoked by the settler. In such trusts, the settlor reserves the right to terminate the trust and recover the trust…

A “special needs trust” may be set up to provide for a disabled child’s or adult’s extra and supplemental needs, other than basic food, shelter and health care expenses that…

A special purpose trust is a trust that exists in certain jurisdictions and created to serve a particular purpose, usually a charitable one. For example, in California, a special purpose…

Split Interest trust is an irrevocable trust in which the income is first dispersed to the beneficiaries of the trust for a specified period of time and then the remainder…

Spray trust is a trust in which the trustee has discretion to distribute, divide, sprinkle or spray the trust funds among the beneficiaries in any way s/he sees fit. Spray…

In a Sprinkling Trust, discretion is given to a trustee to distribute income from a trust fund disproportionately between beneficiaries. The person managing it (the trustee) is given the discretion…

Standby trusts are revocable trusts that are created to manage a person’s assets while s/he is out of the country or disabled. As the name suggests, it is a standby…

A supplemental needs trust is a financial tool used to allow a person such as a family member may establish a trust for a disabled individual without jeopardizing the beneficiary’s…

A spendthrift trust is a trust that restrains the voluntary and involuntary transfer of the beneficiary’s interest in the trust. They are often established when the beneficiary is too young…

Qualified Personal Residence Trust is an irrevocable trust which places the personal residence in a trust either for the benefit of one’s spouse and children or for a charity. The…

Protective trusts are trusts designed to protect the trust property. It protects the assets of the trustor in his or her lifetime from the effect of events such as trustor’s…

QTIP trust refers to qualified terminal interest property trust. It is a testamentary trust established to transfer assets between spouses when one spouse dies. Under this trust the assets are…

Qualified Domestic Trust (known as a QDT or QDOT) is a type of Trust established for the purpose of permitting the federal estate Marital Deduction for Assets transferred from the…

Reciprocal trust is common between husband and wife. It is an arrangement between two parties in which one party is the beneficiary of a trust established by the other party,…

Personal Residence Trust is an irrevocable trust to which the grantor transfers ownership of his or her personal residence while retaining the right to live there for a specified term…

Power of Appointment Trust is a trust in which property is left in trust for the surviving spouse. Assets are placed into trust by a spouse, usually at death, with…

A pourover trust is a revocable trust that is structured to receive and dispose of assets at the settlor’s death. The revocable living trust can be a “shell” during the…

A pot trust or family pot trust is one in which the beneficiaries are children and the trustee has discretion over how to spend money on each child, based on…

Pet trust is a trust established for the care and maintenance of a particular animal or group of animals. It can also be established to provide care for a pet…

Personal trusts are trusts created for individuals and their families. It can be for the financial benefit of one or more designated beneficiaries. For example, trusts set up as an…

Perpetual trust refers to a trust that can continue as long as the need for it continues. It can be for the lifetime of a beneficiary or the term of…

Passive trust is a trust in which the trustee has no active duties to perform. In a passive trust the trustee has no duty other than to transfer the property…

Onerous trusts are trusts which place exceptionally heavy and time-consuming duties of responsibility and care on the trustee. Often the trustees are not compensated for the same. Courts often grant…

An irrevocable trust created during the lifetime of a trustor to hold his/her life insurance policy as trust property, and thus exclude its proceeds from the taxable estate upon his/her…

A life insurance trust is a type of life insurance policy in which an irrevocable, non-amendable trust company is named as the owner and beneficiary of one or more life…

Liquidating trust is a trust designed to be liquidated as soon as possible. For example: a trust into which a decedent’s business is placed to safeguard the business until it…

What is a Trust? A Trust is an entity which owns assets for the benefit of a third person (beneficiary). A Living Trust is an effective way to provide lifetime…

Mandatory trust is a trust in which beneficiary’s interest in the income is mandatory. It is a most restrictive form of trust, where the trustee has no discretion, but must…

Merger doctrine is a legal doctrine used in different areas of law. In general, merger doctrines are applied to seek fairness and equality between two entities. In trust law, merger…

A Miller Trust makes Social Security and other income exempt from calculations of income and resources if the state is reimbursed from the trust for Medicaid expenses upon the recipient’s…

Minor’s trust is a trust with only one beneficiary, who is a minor. It is a trust whereby asset management is provided until a child reaches the age of majority.…

Naked trusts are trusts in which the trustee has no duty other than to transfer the property to the beneficiary. It is a straightforward type of trust into which a…

A marital deduction trust allows is a financial vehicle to facilitate the transfer of property from husband to wife or wife to husband and are designed to take advantage of…

Inter vivos trust refers to a trust created and executed during the life time of a testator. It is a revocable trust created to hold property for the benefit of…

Grantor trust is a trust whose maker retains control over the management of the trust assets and the distribution of its income. Grantor trusts are not subject to taxation however,…

Incentive trust is a legally binding fiduciary relationship in which the trustee holds and manages the assets contributed to the trust by the grantor. This trust is designed to encourage…

Indestructible trust is a trust in which the trust agreement prevents the beneficiary from prematurely terminating the trust. It is also termed as Claflin Trust.

Interest in possession trust is a common form of trust. It gives the beneficiary an immediate right to income from the trust. A beneficiary is said to have an interest…

Irrevocable living trusts are created by an unconditional transfer of assets for the benefit of family members with no retention of any beneficial interest by the individual who establishes the…

Irrevocable trust is a trust that cannot be modified or terminated without the permission of the beneficiary. In most states, a trust will be deemed irrevocable unless the grantor specifies…

Grantor-retained income trust or GRIT is an irrevocable trust established in a written trust agreement whereby the grantor transfers assets but retains the income from or the use of these…

Executed trusts are trusts in which the estates and interests in the subject matter of the trust are completely limited and defined by the instrument creating the trust. Such trusts…

Executory trusts are trusts that require further drafting and/or execution of documents before it is completely effective. In executory trusts, the instrument creating the trust is intended to be provisional…

Exemption equivalent trust is a trust funded by a decedent’s will with property that will pay surviving spouse the income from the trust, while the trust itself is not part…

Express private passive trust refers to a trust in which land is conveyed to or held by one person in trust for another. In such trusts the trustee does not…

Express trust is a trust created with the settlor’s express intent. Express trust arises out of a direct or positive declaration of trust. It comes into existence by the execution…

Fixed trust is a trust in which the trustee may not exercise any discretion over the trust’s management or distributions. It is also termed as directory trust or nondiscretionary trust.

Generation Skipping Trusts are a type of irrevocable trust that is designed to eliminate estate taxes at each generational level and continue for as many generations as allowed by applicable…

Gift in trust is a gift that withholds the legal title from the donee. Legal title may be transmitted to a third person, or it may be retained by the…

Grantor Retained Annuity Trust or GRAT refers to an irrevocable trust into which the grantor transfers property in exchange for the right to receive fixed payments at least annually, based…

Grantor-retained unitrust or GRUT is an irrevocable trust into which the grantor transfers property in exchange for the right to receive annual payments, the amount of which fluctuates based on…

Funding a Trust is transferring ownership of property to a trustee. So the property will be held in trust. With the most common kind of revocable living trust, this transfer…

Directory trusts are trusts that only generally defined by the trust document. They are not finally settled by the instrument creating it, but only defined in its general purpose. Such…

Declaration of trust means “the act by which an individual acknowledges that property the title to which he holds in his own name in fact belongs to another, for whose…

Declared trust refers to a trust that is created by the express intention of the grantor. It is an ordinary trust. This is also called express trust or direct trust.

Defective trusts are irrevocable trusts that are treated as an entity same as the grantor for income tax purposes. Typically a trust is an independent entity that is taxed separately…

Destructible trust refers to a trust that can be destroyed by the happening of an event or by operation of law.

Discretionary Trusts are trusts which cannot be duly administered without the application of a certain degree of prudence and judgment. Discretionary trust is a trust in which the settler has…

Donative trusts are trusts that establish a gift of a beneficial interest in property for a beneficiary. It can be conveyance of property in trust set up as a gift…

Dry trusts are trusts that merely vests legal title in a trustee but do not require the trustee to do anything. The title on trust assets are changed to that…

Custodial trust is a revocable trust wherein a custodial trustee is named to manage the assets for a beneficiary who is incapacitated or disabled. It is not necessary for the…

A Crummey trust is a trust that takes advantage of the gift tax exclusion and also keeps money in trust by placing significant restrictions on the recipient’s right to withdraw.…

A credit shelter trust is a trust for the benefit of a surviving spouse, created to avoid estate taxes at a first spouse’s death and which takes advantage of the…

A Bank account trust is a trust created by a person depositing his or her own money in his or her own name in a bank account for the benefit…