Breach of trust in legal contexts refers to breaking the rules of a trust or a person taking advantage of property given to them for a period of time. Trusts have multiple explicit delineations of property and rules which a trustee must follow, and a breach of trust occurs where the trustee or someone else breaks these rules. Beneficiaries may be able to get monetary damages or equitable remedy for breaches of trust. Breach of trust can also refer to when an owner allows someone to borrow or periodically control their property and that person steals or inappropriately uses the property. For example, a breach of trust would occur if you paid a valet to park your vehicle, and the valet drove your vehicle around the city.
[Last updated in June of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]