A trust is an arrangement that allows a person to hold assets (without owning them) for the benefit of the trust’s beneficiaries. This definition clarifies that someone establishes a trust for the benefit of the beneficiaries (not just for oneself, as one of the beneficiaries), transfers assets into the trust, and then appoints trustees to manage the trust’s assets on behalf of those beneficiaries. A person cannot serve as the founder, the sole trustee, and the only beneficiary because a trust is a contract, and one cannot contract with oneself. If you want to be the founder, a trustee, and the sole beneficiary, you would need to appoint an independent trustee for the trust to be valid.
