Also known as: founders · founding · incorporator · settlor
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A person who establishes or creates an institution, business, or trust. In trust law the founder is the settlor who contributes property and sets the trust's terms.
Frederick Ferguson created a trust leaving an outright remainder to his disabled grandson. After Frederick's death, changed circumstances made outright distribution harmful to government benefits. The court authorized conversion of the remainder into a special needs trust, preserving assets precisely because Frederick as founder had not anticipated the beneficiary's disability.
Francesca Fiore executed a will pouring her residuary estate into a revocable trust she had created during life. The trust was identified in the will and its terms were set forth in a separate instrument. The devise was valid even though Francesca retained power to amend the trust after executing the will.
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Fernando Farrell funded a revocable trust during life. After his death the probate estate proved insufficient to pay creditors. The trust assets became subject to those claims to the extent the probate estate could not satisfy them.
Floyd Franklin and Francesca Fowler signed articles of incorporation listing themselves as the incorporators. The document supplied their names and addresses as required for valid formation of the corporation.
Francois Fortier drafted a trust containing an exculpatory clause relieving the trustee of liability. Because Francois as founder abused his confidential relationship with the settlor when he inserted the clause, the term was held unenforceable.
Frontier Capital's articles named no initial directors. The incorporators therefore called and held an organizational meeting to elect the first board and adopt bylaws, completing formation of the corporation.
A founder who is also the settlor of a revocable trust may modify or revoke the trust. Once the trust becomes irrevocable, modification generally requires consent of the settlor and all beneficiaries or court approval under equitable deviation principles.
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Yes. A person who consents to being held out as a founding partner and is relied upon by a third party can be treated as a partner for liability purposes even without an ownership interest.
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The assets of a revocable trust become subject to the founder's creditors and estate administration expenses to the extent the probate estate is inadequate.
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The articles must list the name and address of each incorporator. If no initial directors are named, the incorporators must hold an organizational meeting to complete formation.
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…& Speer, Facing the Accuser: Ancient and Medieval Precursors of the Confrontation Clause, 34 Va. J. Int'l L. 481 (1994). The founding generation's immediate source of the concept, however, was the common law. English common law has long differed from continental civil law in regard to the manner in which witnesses give…