The People and Terms in a Trust

Let's look at the people who are involved in a trust. These are the same ones that we're involved in the Will and will also be the same ones involved in Probate.

The person who creates the trust has multiple names and even wears many hats. Grantor, Trustor, Trust maker, Creator, Trustee. After passing away, this person becomes the Decedent. It's the same person, just different names upon death.

When someone uses a trust, the word describing the transferring of goods is "bequeath." They are bequeathing property.

What are they giving? Personal property, real property, tangible property, intangible property, legacy, devise, and a bequest. Wow that's confusing so let's go over these terms.

Personal property is just that: anything that is personal.

Real Property is real estate.

Tangible property is something you can put your hands on, like a car or money.

Intangible property is something you cannot put your hands on, like an LLC, or a Corporation or stocks or bonds.

A legacy is a gift given upon death, and the gift is personal property. That's all it is. I always thought legacy was leaving a big legacy of good works behind. But in this particular case, what it means is a gift of personal property.

Devise is a gift of real estate. When you're giving real property to somebody you are devising a devise. When they receive it they become the devisee.

A bequest is the name of whatever is given. I am bequeathing a bequest. The bequest is whatever it is that is passed between. A car, a house, money, it's all called the bequest and the beneficiaries are the ones who receive it. We see the word beneficiary all the time, like on life insurance policies or medical insurance policies. Beneficiaries receive.

People can play two roles: they can be a beneficiary and a trustee serving dual purposes. They can be a custodian and successor. They can receive the assets and they can handle the assets, and they can distribute the assets.

Sometimes legalese can feel like a different language altogether – hopefully now you feel a little more fluent and a bit more empowered. If you need help talking through this, drop me a line!