A trust is a legal agreement by which assets are transferred from one individual, known as the settlor, to the Trust itself. The responsibility for the management of these assets is assumed by the Trustees, who run the Trust for the benefit of third parties known as the beneficiaries.

The settlor is no longer the legal owner of the assets placed in Trust; the assets are owned by the Trust. The Settlor is also usually a Trustee, so a significant amount of legal control is retained despite the loss of legal ownership. In most cases additional Trustees (of which there can only be 4, so the settlor + 3 others) include children and close family. Trustees can also be beneficiaries of the Trust. In practice the beneficiaries of the trust often match those in a will.

In depth detail is available within our Exclusive Estate Planning Brochure.

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