Also known as: definite beneficiaries · ascertainable beneficiary
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A person or class of persons who can be ascertained with certainty when the trust is created or at any future time that complies with the rule against perpetuities. A beneficiary meets this standard when described by objective criteria that permit identification of members even if the trustee holds power to select among them.
Daphne Doyle transfers her stock portfolio to Daniel as trustee under a written instrument directing use of income for scholarships to students enrolled in accredited computer science degree programs. Daniel receives complete discretion to choose recipients from that group. The class satisfies the definite beneficiary requirement because membership turns on verifiable enrollment status rather than subjective judgment.
Dominic Drake assigns royalty rights to Delta Dynamics as trustee with directions to fund production of films glorifying his career and to maintain a private screening theater indefinitely. No individuals receive direct benefits and the purpose is noncharitable. The arrangement may proceed without a definite beneficiary but enforcement ends after twenty-one years.
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No. It is sufficient that beneficiaries belong to a class described by objective criteria that permit identification now or in the future. The trustee may then select among members of that class.
Supporting sources
No. Modern trust law expressly validates a trustee's discretionary power to select beneficiaries from an objectively described class. The underlying class must remain ascertainable.
Supporting sources
A description fails when it supplies no objective or measurable standard, leaving eligibility to purely subjective judgment that prevents ascertainment of class members now or later.
Yes. A trust for a specific lawful noncharitable purpose may be created without a definite or ascertainable beneficiary, though enforcement is limited to twenty-one years.
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Charitable trusts are exempt from the definite beneficiary requirement because they serve a recognized public purpose rather than identifiable private individuals.
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…settlor has capacity to create a trust; B. The settlor indicates an intention to create the trust; C. The trust has a definite beneficiary …; D. The trustee has duties to perform; and E. The same person is not the sole trustee and sole beneficiary. [¶ 5] Although a trust need not be in writing, the creation of an oral…