Trust fund taxes (also known as payroll taxes) are FICA taxes paid by an employer on employee wages which include the Social Security and Medicare taxes. The employer is required to keep their share and the employee share of FICA taxes in a...
trusts, inheritances & estates
trust instrument
A trust instrument is a writing declaration or agreement to allocate a settlor’s property to their beneficiaries. It consists of the trust and regulates how the trust is executed. Trust instruments can be amended or revoked by the settlor at...
trust intent
Trust intent is the settlor’s intent to make a trust. It is a requirement of an express trust along with trust property, a trustee and definite beneficiaries.
trust merger
Trust merger is when the sole trustee and the sole beneficiary of the trust are the same person or institution. When this occurs, there is no longer separation between the trustee’s legal ownership of the trust property and the beneficiary’s...
trust property
Trust property is also known as the “trust res” or “corpus.” It is the property that is the subject of the trust. The property must be presently existing and identified. Trust property can be any property interest that the law recognizes as a valid...
trust protector
A trust protector is a role with specific duties that is assigned by the trust document in order to fulfill the purpose of the trust. In the Uniform Trust Code Section 808, the trust protector is defined as “a person other than the trustee or...
trust res
Trust res, also named as trust corpus, principal, subject matter, or trust property, is the property that is transferred into a trust. The term “corpus” is Latin for "body.” A trust corpus is the "body" of the trust. It is the property that...
trustee
A trustee is a third party who is authorized by a settlor to execute and manage trust assets. A trustee holds the title of the trust asset. A trustee is a requirement of an express trust along with trust property, trust intent, and definite...
trustee in bankruptcy
See Bankruptcy Trustee.
[Last updated in October of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]
trustee powers
Trustee powers are generated from a trust document, and these are the powers the trustee may exercise without violation of the law or the terms of the trust. For example, the power to buy and sell assets. Most trustee powers are permissive,...