Also known as: cestui que trusts · cestuis que trust · trust beneficiary · beneficiary
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A person who holds equitable title to property placed in trust and who is entitled to receive the income, profits, or other benefits from that property.
Coastal Shipping borrows funds from Cedar Creek Farms and conveys title to a trustee under a deed of trust. Cedar Creek Farms holds the equitable interest in the property as security for repayment. When Coastal Shipping defaults, Cedar Creek Farms directs the trustee to foreclose and apply the proceeds to the debt.
Cypress Technologies promises Caleb Chang that it will deliver specialized equipment to Chloe Chen. Caleb Chang is the promisee, but Chloe Chen receives the equipment and sues when delivery fails. Chloe Chen enforces the promise as the person for whose benefit the performance was intended.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Christopher Collins grants an access easement across his land to Catherine Carter after she builds a road in reliance on the grant. The writing omits the precise location. Catherine Carter's change in position allows enforcement of the servitude despite the statute of frauds defect.
Cody Callahan creates a trust leaving an outright remainder to his disabled niece. After the niece's medical costs threaten to exhaust the assets, the court converts the remainder into a special needs trust. The modification preserves the assets for the niece's benefit while carrying out the settlor's intent.
Cecilia Cabrera, as trustee, sells trust property without authority. The sole beneficiary, Caleb Chang, learns the facts and signs a written release. Caleb Chang later sues for breach. The release bars the claim because it was knowing and not induced by improper conduct.
Cobalt Energy contracts with Coastal Shipping to pay a debt Coastal Shipping owes to Christopher Collins. The contract states that payment satisfies Coastal Shipping's obligation to Christopher Collins. Christopher Collins sues Cobalt Energy when payment is withheld and recovers as the intended beneficiary.
The cestui que trust may enforce the trustee's fiduciary duties, including the duty to administer the trust according to its terms and to avoid self-dealing. The beneficiary may also reach trust assets through attachment when the interest is not protected by a spendthrift provision.
Consent, release, or ratification by the beneficiary bars a later claim unless the beneficiary lacked knowledge of material facts or the trustee induced the consent through improper conduct.
When unanticipated circumstances arise, a court may modify administrative or dispositive provisions if the change furthers the trust's purposes. One application converts an outright remainder into a special needs trust to preserve assets for a disabled beneficiary.
No. Only an intended beneficiary acquires enforceable rights. Recognition of the beneficiary's right must be appropriate to effectuate the parties' intention, and the performance must either satisfy a promisee's debt to the beneficiary or manifest an intent to confer the benefit directly.
…hardship. But the hardship is not as severe as that suffered by the welfare recipient in Goldberg v. Kelly . The disability beneficiary is likely to have access to other sources of income, such as workers' compensation or private insurance. Moreover, the beneficiary may seek retroactive benefits if he ultimately…