Though it comes in many forms (suitable for many different purposes), a trust is generally a legal device by which one person holds legal title to property asset and manages it for the benefit of another. A trust can do almost anything grantors (persons who establish trusts) can do for themselves, and some things that they might not be able to do because of lack of skill or because of sickness, disability, distance, or death.
Typically, trusts are set up not so much for the grantor's own direct benefit, but for the benefit of others, e.g., the spouse, children, grandchildren, or charitable organization.
The ability of the trust to bridge the gap between life and death is one of its most remarkable characteristics. Through a trust, the grantor may "rule from the grave," not in perpetuity, but for as long as the law allows. Generally, the trust may last as long as any individual named by the grantor remains alive, and usually for 21 years after the last of those designated beneficiaries dies. This is the so-called "rule against perpetuities."
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