PARTIES TO A TRUST
There are three parties to a trust: the Grantor, the Trustee and the Beneficiary. A trust may have multiple grantors, trustees or beneficiaries; or the trust may have one person serving in all three capacities.
Grantor - The Grantor of the trust is the person who establishes the trust and puts assets into it. (known as "funding the trust") The Grantor is the one who gets to set all the rules for the trust.
Trustee - The trustee is the person who manages the trust according to the rules set forth by the grantor in the trust document. The trustee performs activities such as investing or maintaining the trust assets, making distributions to the beneficiaries, liquidating the trust upon termination, and making sure that financial records are kept and tax returns are filed.
Beneficiary - The beneficiary is the one who receives the benefit of the trust assets. An income beneficiary receives the income earned by the trust. The residuary beneficiary receives the assets of the trust, known as the corpus. The trustee is responsible to be sure that each beneficiary receives his proper distribution.
Trustee - The trustee is the person who manages the trust according to the rules set forth by the grantor in the trust document. The trustee performs activities such as investing or maintaining the trust assets, making distributions to the beneficiaries, liquidating the trust upon termination, and making sure that financial records are kept and tax returns are filed.
Beneficiary - The beneficiary is the one who receives the benefit of the trust assets. An income beneficiary receives the income earned by the trust. The residuary beneficiary receives the assets of the trust, known as the corpus. The trustee is responsible to be sure that each beneficiary receives his proper distribution.