Apr 08, 2013 8:36 PM

the definition of TRUST (as in law)- thread.....

(Barron's Law Dictionary 3rd-edition, 1991) TRUST: property, REAL or PERSONAL, held by one party for the benefit of another. It implies two interests; one legal, and the other EQUITABLE; the TRUSTEE holding the legal title or interest; and the CESTUI QUE trust or BENEFICIARY holding the equitable title or interest. The one who supplies the property or consideration [RES] for the trust is the SETTLOR [also called TRUSTOR or DONOR]. Trust also applies generally to any relationship in which one acts as a GUARDIAN or FIDUCIARY in relation to another's property. Thus a deposit of money in a bank is a "trust", or the RECEIPT(think REVENUE RECEIPT) of money to be applied to a particular purpose or to be paid to another is a "trust."

RES (latin): the thing; the subject matter of actions that are primarily IN REM i.e. actions that establish rights in relation to an object, as opposed to a person, or IN PERSONAM. For example, in an action that resolves a conflict over title to real property, the land in question is the RES. Tangible PERSONAL PROPERTY can also be a "res," as in the CORPUS of a trust. In a QUASI in rem proceeding, land or chattels that are seized and attached at the beginning of the action, in order that they may later be used to satisfy a personal claim, are the res of such suits. The term refers as well to the status of individuals. Thus, in a divorce suit, the marital status is the res. The purpose of a res is to establish a court's JURISDICTION, i.e. if the property lies within the state where the action is brought, or an individual in a divorce action is a DOMICILLARY of the state, then jurisdiction is established.

CORPUS (latin): body. The principal mass of a physical substance. It is the principal or res of an ESTATE, DEVISE or BEQUEST from which income is derived. In the law of trusts, any valid trust must have a valid subject matter or corpus; the corpus can consist of any transferable interest, vested or contingent, legal or equitable, real or personal, tangible or intangible, as long as the subject matter is "certain." Intangible things such as a copyright or the good will of a business or a trade secret, if transferable by gift, inter vivos or by will, can constitute the corpus of a trust. In the law of real property, the term refers to all tangible objects; thus, the roadway, embankment and equipment constitute the corpus of railroad property. ROYALTIES from oil and gas in a well also constitute the corpus of the land. The term generally is found in civil law denoting a positive fact as distinguished from a possibility. See corpus delecti. It also refers to an aggregate of a substance such as the law. See corpus juris.

AGGREGATE: a total of all the parts; the whole, the complete amount; also, to combine, as to aggregate several causes of action in a single suit; similarly, to aggregate many persons whose causes of actions are closely related into a class action.

ESTATE: interest, right or ownership in land; technically, the degree, quantity, nature and extent of a person's interest or ownership of land. In its broad sense, "estate" applies to all that a person owns, whether REAL or PERSONAL property. See also PRIVITY [privity of estate]

PRIVITY OF ESTATE: denotes mutual or successive relation to the same right in property. A privy in estate is one who derives from another TITLE to property, by contract (grant, will, or other voluntary transfer of possession), or law (descent, judgment, etc.)

DEVISE: traditionally a GIFT of real property made by will. A testamentary act by which a now-deceased person manifested his intent to create one or more interests in land or in a thing other than land, irrespective of whether such act is effective to create such interest. Simplicity of statement requires that a single word be available to describe a testamentary act intended to dispose of interests in land, interests in things other than land or both these types of interests. The employment of two words, such as DEVISE and BEQUEATH is awkward.

BEQUEATH: the appropriate term for making a GIFT of personalty by means of a will. Strictly, it signifies a gift of personal property, which distinguishes it from a DEVISE, which is a gift of real property. A DISPOSITION is the generic name encompassing both a bequest of personalty and a devise of realty. However, when a testator's intention is obvious, "bequeath" is considered synonymous with "devise."

LEGACY: GIFT, or BEQUEST by will of personal property. The term is frequently confused with devise, which refers to a disposition of real property, but the technical distinction between "legacy" and "devise" will not defeat a testator's intention, so that either term may be used to dispose of real or personal property. It is regarded as synonymous with bequest. Compare to devise.