Rise of the Purpose TrustRise of the Purpose Trust
Most estate planners know the three basic elements of a trust: a trustee, a corpus, and one or more beneficiaries. Many commentators regard the presence of a beneficiary as the most important element, because without a beneficiary there would be no one to enforce the trust and hence there could be no trust.1 There is, of course, one traditional, notable exception to this rule: A charitable trust may
Alexander A. Bove, Jr. member, Bove & Langa, P.C., Boston
Most estate planners know the three basic elements of a trust: a trustee, a corpus, and one or more beneficiaries. Many commentators regard the presence of a beneficiary as the most important element, because without a beneficiary there would be no one to enforce the trust and hence there could be no trust.1 There is, of course, one traditional, notable exception to this rule: A charitable trust may have no beneficiaries per se and still not fail. That is because it is well-settled law that the attorney general in the applicable jurisdiction has the power to enforce the trust.
Because of the beneficiary requirement, there has been a problem for those who want to create trusts to car...
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