Also known as: trust estates · trust property · trust corpus · trust res
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The property or assets held by a trustee subject to the terms of the trust for the benefit of designated beneficiaries. The trustee must manage and distribute this property according to the trust instrument and applicable fiduciary standards.
Tobias Thomas created a trust holding investment accounts for his two adult children. When the trustee sold securities from one child's portion to cover expenses benefiting only the other child, the disadvantaged beneficiary sued. The court required the trustee to restore value to the trust estate because the trustee failed to give due regard to each beneficiary's interests in managing the property.
Tamara Tan and Theo Thomas each transferred separate parcels of real estate into a single trust. When a dispute arose over division of proceeds upon termination, the court traced each contribution separately. Only the portion attributable to Tamara's original transfer counted as her share of the trust estate under the contribution rule.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Trevor Tate resigned as trustee of a trust holding commercial real estate. Until a successor was appointed and the property transferred, he continued to collect rents and pay taxes on the trust estate. The court upheld his authority to take these protective actions even after resignation.
Tori Taylor was removed as trustee of a trust containing valuable artwork. She delayed transferring the pieces to the successor trustee for several months while negotiating storage fees. The court ordered immediate delivery of the entire trust estate and imposed liability for any loss during the delay.
Tanya Tang's estate included assets previously placed in a revocable trust. After her death the IRS challenged the valuation of the trust estate for estate tax purposes. The Supreme Court held that state court determinations regarding the trust property were not binding on federal tax authorities.
Triumph Manufacturing transferred equipment into a trust whose sole purpose was to destroy the equipment upon the settlor's death. The court ruled the trust invalid and ordered the trust estate returned to the settlor's heirs because the purpose violated public policy.
A resigning or removed trustee retains duties and powers necessary to protect the trust property until it is delivered to a successor. The trustee must deliver the property expeditiously to the cotrustee, successor, or other entitled person.
Supporting sources
A settlor is a person who creates or contributes property to a trust. When multiple persons contribute, each is treated as settlor only of the portion attributable to that person's contribution unless another person holds revocation power over it.
Supporting sources
When a trust has multiple beneficiaries, the trustee must act impartially in investing, managing, and distributing the trust property while giving due regard to each beneficiary's respective interests.
Supporting sources
…land. Kuapa Pond was part of an ahupuaa that eventually vested in Bernice Pauahi Bishop and on her death formed a part of the trust corpus of petitioner Bishop Estate, the present owner. In 1961, Bishop Estate leased a 6,000-acre area, which included Kuapa Pond, to petitioner Kaiser Aetna for subdivision development. The…