A trust is a legal device used for the management of property.  In a trust, legal title to the property -- the right to manage the property -- is held by one person, called a trustee, while another person, called the beneficiary, has the beneficial right to the use and enjoyment of the property.  A living trust is a trust created while the creator is living (compared to a testamentary trust, which is created at or after the creator's death under the terms of his or her will).  A living trust may be revocable -- changeable by the creator prior to his or her death -- or irrevocable -- unchangeable by the creator.  When most people speak of a "living trust," they mean a revocable trust created during the creator's lifetime for the management and disposition of all, or substantially all, of the creator's property.  Different marketers of these types of trusts call them different things -- some are registered trademarks such as "Loving Trust," while others are more descriptive terms such as "family trust," "revocable management trusts" or simply "living trusts."  It is this type of trust that will be discussed below.

Last updated on January 6, 2011 by Glenn Karisch