trust law A trust is a legal relationship in which the owner of property, or any transferable right, gives it to another to manage and use solely for the benefit of a designated person. In the English common law, the party who entrusts the property is k ...

, a settlor is a person who settles (i.e. gives into trust) their

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, re ...

for the benefit of the

beneficiary A beneficiary in the broadest sense is a natural person or other legal entity who receives money or other benefits from a benefactor. For example, the beneficiary of a life insurance policy is the person who receives the payment of the amount of ...

. In some legal systems, a settlor is also referred to as a trustor, or occasionally, a grantor or donor. Where the trust is a testamentary trust, the settlor is usually referred to as the ''

testator A testator () is a person who has written and executed a last will and testament that is in effect at the time of their death. It is any "person who makes a will."Gordon Brown, ''Administration of Wills, Trusts, and Estates'', 3d ed. (2003), p. ...

''. The settlor may also be the

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

of the trust (where he declares that he holds his own property on trusts) or a third party may be the trustee (where he transfers the property to the trustee on trusts). In the

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

, it has been held, controversially, that where a trustee declares an intention to transfer trust property to a trust of which he is one of several trustees, that is a valid settlement notwithstanding the property is not

vested In law, vesting is the point in time when the rights and interests arising from legal ownership of a property are acquired by some Legal person, person. Vesting creates an immediately secured right of present or future deployment. One has a vest ...

in the other trustees. Capacity to be a trustee is generally co-extensive with the ability to hold and dispose of a legal or beneficial interest in property. In practice, special considerations arise only with respect to minors and mentally incapacitated persons. A settlor may create a trust by manifesting an intention to create it. In most countries no formalities are required to create an trust over personal property, but there are often formalities associated with trusts over

real property In English common law, real property, real estate, immovable property or, solely in the US and Canada, realty, refers to parcels of land and any associated structures which are the property of a person. For a structure (also called an Land i ...

, or testamentary trusts. The words or acts of the settlor must be sufficient to establish an intention that either another person or the settlor himself shall be trustee of the property on behalf of the beneficiary; a general intention to benefit another person on its own is sufficient. These formalities apply to

express trusts In trust law, an express trust is a trust created "in express terms, and usually Trust instrument, in writing, as distinguished from one inferred by the law from the conduct or dealings of the Party (law), parties." Property is transferred by a ...

only, and not to resulting, implied or

constructive trust In trust law, a constructive trust is an equitable remedy imposed by a court to benefit a party that has been wrongfully deprived of its rights due to either a person obtaining or holding a legal property right which they should not possess ...

s. For a settlor to validly create a trust, in most common law legal systems they must satisfy the three certainties, established in '' Knight v Knight'': #''certainty of intention'' – whether the settlor (or testator) has manifested an intention to create a trust. #''certainty of subject matter'' – whether the property identified as being settled is sufficiently accurately identified. #''certainty of objects'' – the beneficiaries must be clearly ascertainable within the perpetuity period. Where a settlement of property on a third party trustee by a settlor fails, the property is usually said to be held on

resulting trust A resulting trust is an implied trust that comes into existence by operation of law, where property is transferred to someone who pays nothing for it; and then is implied to hold the property for the benefit of another person. The trust property ...

s for the settlor. However, if a settlor validly transfers property to a third party, and the words used are held not to create a trust, the usual rule is that the donee takes the property absolutely.''Lassence v Tierney'' (1849) 1 Mac & Cr 551

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{{Reflist Equity (law) Legal terminology Property law Wills and trusts

See also

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