Also known as: trust instruments · trust deed · declaration of trust · trust agreement
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A written document that manifests the settlor's intent regarding the provisions of a trust. The document sets forth the trust's terms and may be used to validate related testamentary or corporate arrangements.
Theodore Tucker executes a will that directs his residuary estate to the trustee of an inter vivos trust whose terms appear in a separately signed document. At Tucker's death the probate court treats the will provision as a valid pour-over devise because the trust instrument was executed during his lifetime even though the trust held no assets before death.
Tyler Taylor creates a revocable trust and signs a detailed trust instrument that names beneficiaries and specifies distribution rules. When a dispute arises over whether oral statements can alter those rules, the court looks only to the signed instrument as the authoritative expression of Taylor's intent.
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Tanner Thompson and two other shareholders sign an agreement that appoints a trustee to vote their shares and immediately transfer the certificates into the trustee's name. The trustee prepares the required list of beneficial owners and delivers it with the agreement to the corporation, satisfying the statutory steps for a valid voting trust.
Tonya Takahashi claims an oral trust was created when her uncle handed her a bank account and stated it was for her benefit. Because no trust instrument exists, the court requires clear and convincing evidence of the uncle's intent and the trust terms before recognizing the arrangement.
Timothy Tang alleges that his stepbrother destroyed the trust instrument his father executed to fund a lifetime trust for Tang. The court examines whether the missing instrument would have directed half the appreciation of the father's assets to Tang, treating the document's existence and terms as central to the tortious-interference claim.
Tessa Takahashi's mother executed a Delaware trust instrument naming a Delaware corporate trustee and reserving a power of appointment. After the mother's death in Florida, the Florida court must decide whether it can exercise jurisdiction over the Delaware trustee to determine the validity of the appointment exercised in the mother's will.
No. A trust need not be evidenced by a trust instrument unless another statute requires it. An oral trust and its terms may be established only by clear and convincing evidence.
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The trust instrument supplies the terms that govern property poured over from a will. The instrument must have been executed during the testator's lifetime even if the trust itself was never funded before death.
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Shareholders sign an agreement setting out the trust provisions and transfer their shares to the trustee. The trustee then prepares a list of beneficial owners and delivers the list and agreement to the corporation.
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No. Incorporation by reference captures the trust instrument only as it existed when the will was executed. Subsequent amendments require republication of the will or a codicil to be given effect.
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Clear and convincing evidence is required to prove both the creation of an oral trust and its specific terms.
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…established in Delaware by a resident of that State. In 1935, Dora Browning Donner, then a resident of Pennsylvania, executed a trust instrument in Delaware. The trust was for the benefit of her daughter, Elizabeth Donner Hanson, and the latter’s children. The trustee was a Delaware corporation. The trust instrument reserved to the…