TRUST

trust,n.1. The right, enforceable solely in equity, to the beneficial enjoyment of property to
which another person holds the legal title; a property interest held by one person (the trustee) at
the request of another (the settlor) for the benefit of a third party (the beneficiary). For a trust to
be valid, it must involve specific property, reflect the settlor's intent, and be created for a lawful
purpose. The two primary types of trusts are private trusts and charitable trusts (see below). [Cases:
Trusts 1. C.J.S. Trover and Conversion 19, 1418.] 2. A fiduciary relationship regarding
property and charging the person with title to the property with equitable duties to deal with it for
another's benefit; the confidence placed in a trustee, together with the trustee's obligations toward
the property and the beneficiary. A trust arises as a result of a manifestation of an intention to
create it. See FIDUCIARY RELATIONSHIP. 3. The property so held; CORPUS(1).
[A] trust involves three elements, namely, (1) a trustee, who holds the trust property and is
subject to equitable duties to deal with it for the benefit of another; (2) a beneficiary, to whom the
trustee owes equitable duties to deal with the trust property for his benefit; (3) trust property,
which is held by the trustee for the beneficiary. Restatement (Second) of Trusts 2 cmt. h (1959).
EQUITY
equity,n.1. Fairness; impartiality; evenhanded dealing <the company's policies require
managers to use equity in dealing with subordinate employees>.2. The body of principles
constituting what is fair and right; natural law <the concept of inalienable rights reflects the
influence of equity on the Declaration of Independence>.
PROPERTY
property. 1. The right to possess, use, and enjoy a determinate thing (either a tract of land or a
chattel); the right of ownership <the institution of private property is protected from undue
governmental interference>. Also termed bundle of rights. [Cases: Constitutional Law 277;
Property 1. C.J.S. Constitutional Law 982; Property 210, 13.] 2. Any external thing over
which the rights of possession, use, and enjoyment are exercised <the airport is city property>.
[Cases: Property 1.C.J.S. Property 210, 13.]
PERSON
person. 1. A human being. Also termed natural person.
absent person.Louisiana law. A person who has no representative in the state and whose
whereabouts are not known and cannot be ascertained by diligent effort. La. Civ. Code art. 47.
adult disabled person.A child over the age of 18 for whom a parent continues to have a duty
of support.
associated person.See ASSOCIATED PERSON.
disabled person.A person who has a mental or physical impairment. See DISABILITY.
disappeared person.See DISAPPEARED PERSON.
interested person.A person having a property right in or claim against a thing, such as a trust
or decedent's estate. The meaning may expand to include an entity, such as a business that is a
creditor of a decedent. Abbr. IP.
TITLE
title. 1. The union of all elements (as ownership, possession, and custody) constituting the
legal right to control and dispose of property; the legal link between a person who owns property
and the property itself <no one has title to that land>.2. Legal evidence of a person's ownership
rights in property; an instrument (such as a deed) that constitutes such evidence < record your title
with the county clerk>.
Though employed in various ways, [title] is generally used to describe either the manner in
which a right to real property is acquired, or the right itself. In the first sense, it refers to the
conditions necessary to acquire a valid claim to land; in the second, it refers to the legal
consequences of such conditions. These two senses are not only interrelated, but inseparable:
given the requisite conditions, the legal consequences or rights follow as of course; given the
rights, conditions necessary for the creation of those rights must have been satisfied. Thus, when

the word title is used in one sense, the other sense is necessarily implied. Kent McNeil,
Common Law Aboriginal Title 10 (1989).
equitable title. A title that indicates a beneficial interest in property and that gives the holder
the right to acquire formal legal title. Before the Statute of Uses (1536), an equitable title was
enforceable only in a court of chancery, not of law. Cf. legal title. [Cases: Vendor and Purchaser
54. C.J.S. Vendor and Purchaser 145146.]
legal title. A title that evidences apparent ownership but does not necessarily signify full and
complete title or a beneficial interest. Before the Statute of Uses (1536), a legal title was
enforceable only in a court of law, not chancery. Cf. equitable title. [Cases: Vendor and Purchaser
54. C.J.S. Vendor and Purchaser 145146.]
SETTLOR
settlor (set-l<<schwa>>r).1. A person who makes a settlement of property; esp., one who sets
up a trust. Also termed creator; donor; trustor; grantor; founder. [Cases: Trusts 8. C.J.S.
Trover and Conversion 19.] 2. A party to an instrument. Also spelled (in both senses) settler.
EXCHANGE
exchange,n. Commercial law. 1. The act of transferring interests, each in consideration for the
other. [Cases: Exchange of Property 1. C.J.S. Exchange of Property 23.]
THING
thing.
1. The subject matter of a right, whether it is a material object or not; any subject
matter of ownership within the sphere of proprietary or valuable rights. Things are divided into
three categories: (1) things real or immovable, such as land, tenements, and hereditaments, (2)
things personal or movable, such as goods and chattels, and (3) things having both real and
personal characteristics, such as a title deed and a tenancy for a term. The civil law divided things
into corporeal (tangi possunt) and incorporeal (tangi non possunt).La. Civ. Code art. 461. [Cases:
Property 1.C.J.S. Property 210, 13.]
accessory thing.A thing that stands in a dependency relationship with another thing (the
principal thing). An accessory thing ordinarily serves the economic or other purpose of the
principal thing and shares its legal fate in case of transfer or encumbrance.
corporeal thing.The subject matter of corporeal ownership; a material object. Also termed
res corporales; tangible thing.
2. Anything that is owned by someone as part of that person's estate or property. Also
termed res; chose.