Equity & Trusts

Trusts, Estates, and Probate: How They Interact Trusts, estates, and probate are closely connected areas of law, but they describe different legal concepts and perform different functions. An estate generally refers to the property and legal interests owned by a person at death. A trust is a legal arrangement in Read more

Charitable Trusts and the Rule Against Perpetuities Charitable trusts occupy a distinctive position in trust law. Unlike ordinary private trusts, which are generally created to benefit identifiable private beneficiaries, charitable trusts are established to advance purposes regarded by law as beneficial to the public or to a sufficiently broad segment Read more

Modification, Termination, and Revocation of Trusts A trust is not necessarily fixed forever in the form in which it was originally created. Depending on the type of trust, the language of the trust instrument, the identity and powers of the settlor and beneficiaries, and the law governing the trust, a Read more

Breach of Trust and Trustee Liability A trust gives a trustee significant authority over property that ultimately belongs, in a beneficial sense, to someone else. That authority is accompanied by fiduciary obligations. When a trustee fails to comply with the trust instrument, applicable law, or the fiduciary standards governing trust Read more

Beneficiaries and Beneficial Ownership A trust divides property rights between the trustee and the beneficiary. The trustee generally holds legal title to trust property and administers it, while the beneficiary holds a beneficial or equitable interest in that property. This division is one of the defining characteristics of trust law. Read more

Trustees: Powers, Duties, and Fiduciary Responsibilities A trustee occupies one of the most important and demanding positions in trust law. A trustee holds legal title to trust property and is responsible for managing that property for the benefit of others. Unlike an ordinary property owner, however, a trustee cannot generally Read more

Creating a Valid Trust: Intent, Property, and Beneficiaries A trust is not created merely because someone says that another person should manage property for someone else’s benefit. A legally effective trust requires a recognizable legal structure: there must generally be a person capable of creating the trust, an intention to Read more

Express, Resulting, and Constructive Trusts Trusts do not all arise in the same way. Some are deliberately created by a person who intends to establish a trust. Others arise because the circumstances surrounding property ownership create an equitable basis for recognizing a beneficial interest even though no express trust was Read more