Key Terms
Definitions for words used on the Myfanwy Griffiths Fund document page.
Trust Terms
- Trust
- A trust is a fiduciary relationship that divides legal title from beneficial enjoyment: a trustee holds or administers property, while the beneficiary receives the benefit. Cornell Wex also describes a trust as enforceable in equity. Source: Cornell Wex, "trust".
- Settlor
- The settlor is the person who creates the trust, usually by transferring property to a trustee and setting out how the property is to be used. The word is sometimes confused with "settler," but the trust-law term is "settlor." Source: Cornell Wex, "settlor".
- Trustee
- A trustee is the person or entity authorized to manage trust assets. The trustee acts under the trust instrument and must administer the trust in the interest of the beneficiary. Source: Cornell Wex, "trustee".
- Beneficiary
- A beneficiary is the person, organization, charity, or other entity designated to receive benefits. In trusts and wills, the beneficiary is the one meant to receive property or its benefit. Source: Cornell Wex, "beneficiary".
- Trust Property, Corpus, or Res
- Trust property is the property placed into a trust. It may also be called the trust corpus or trust res. In this fund, the trust property is treated as invested capital whose income is used for the fund's purpose. Source: Cornell Wex, "trust property".
- Endowment
- An endowment is money or property donated for a specific purpose, usually invested so that income can support that purpose while some income may also be reinvested to grow the fund. This is the practical idea behind a fund that is built to last. Source: Cornell Wex, "endowment".
- Charitable Trust
- A charitable trust is a trust for charitable purposes. Unlike most private trusts, it does not need a definite individual beneficiary because charitable trusts are enforced differently, commonly through public enforcement. Source: Cornell Wex, "charitable trust".
Doctrines And Latin
- Cy-pres Comme Possible
- Cy-pres comme possible means "as near as possible." The doctrine is often shortened to cy-pres. In charitable trust law, when the original charitable purpose becomes impossible or impractical to fulfill, a court may alter the purpose so the trust can continue as close as possible to the settlor's original intention. Source: Cornell Wex, "cy pres: charitable trusts".
- Equity
- Equity is the branch of law concerned with remedies and procedures distinct from ordinary money damages. Trusts are historically tied to equity because courts of equity enforced beneficial rights where legal title was held by another. Source: Cornell Wex, "equity".
- Donatio Sub Modo
- Donatio sub modo means a gift made subject to a modus, or charge. Bracton says that a donor may impose on a gift, with the donee's consent, "a law, a condition or a modus," so long as it is not to the prejudice of others. That is why the phrase fits this fund: the gift was not unrestricted; it was given for a defined charitable object, with restrictions on how the income and capital may be used. Source: Bracton Online, Harvard Ames Foundation, Thorne Edition, English, Volume 2, Page 106; see also Latin, Volume 2, Page 71.
- Fiduciary Duty
- A fiduciary duty is a duty of loyalty and care owed by someone entrusted to act for another. In a trust, the trustee's role is fiduciary: the trustee manages the property for the trust purpose and beneficiary, not for personal advantage. Source: Cornell Wex, "trustee".
- Trust Instrument
- A trust instrument is the document that creates or governs a trust. It typically identifies the settlor, trustee, beneficiaries, trust property, and the terms under which the trust is to be administered. Source: Cornell Wex, "trust instrument".
Sources
Most definitions on this page are drawn from Wex, the legal dictionary and encyclopedia sponsored and hosted by the Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School. The phrase donatio sub modo is drawn from Bracton Online, published by the Ames Foundation at Harvard Law School, because it is an older legal phrase tied to gifts made subject to a charge or condition.
This page is educational and is not legal advice.