A person who creates a trust, such as a living trust, to become operative during his lifetime; also called a donor, grantor, or trustor.

A term known only in tax laws to describe a trust that is required to distribute all of its income currently and that does not provide for any charitable distribution; opposite of a complex trust.

A provision in a trust instrument which limits the right of the beneficiary to dispose of his interest, as by assignment, and the right of his creditors to reach it, as by attachment.

A trust under which the trustee is given discretionary powers to distribute any of the income or principal among beneficiaries in equal or unequal shares.

Ownership of property by two or more persons so that each has an undivided interest which at the death of one is passed by Will to the deceased heir’s. (It does not pass automatically to the surviving tenants in common.)

The person who makes a Will.

A trust established by the terms of the Will.

A fiduciary relationship in which one person (the trustee) is the holder of the legal title to property (the trust property) subject to an equitable obligation (an obligation enforceable in court of equity) to keep or use the property for the benefit of another (the beneficiary).

An individual or a trust institution that holds the legal title to property for the benefit of someone else, who is the beneficial owner.

The creator of the trust, also called settlor or grantor.

A trust created by a valid Will, to become operative only on the death of the testator; opposite of a living trust and the same as a testamentary trust.

A legally enforceable declaration of a person’s wishes regarding matters to be attended to after his death and inoperative until his death.