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settlor

settlor

9.9
A person who puts property into a trust so others benefit
  • noun
  • /ˈsɛt.lər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : settlor
  • A trust is an arrangement in which a settlor engages a trustee to manage property as a fiduciary for one or more beneficiaries.
  • settlor and trustee
  • a trust settlor
  • settlor, trustee, and beneficiary

Examples

  • The settlor, trustee, and beneficiary roles do not necessitate three different persons as parties to the trust.

    Academic text (2016)
  • Under the Uniform Trust Code, a settlor is "a person... who creates, or contributes property to, a trust." 22

    Academic text (2016)
  • Often the intended beneficiary is a minor or someone whom the settlor believes may not be well suited to manage the property.

    Academic text (2016)
  • Rather than giving a direct gift to the beneficiary, the settlor wishes to have the property managed by a third party serving as trustee.

    Academic text (2016)
  • For instance, the settlor might have reason to question (if not necessarily to doubt) the trustworthiness of her trustees.

    Academic text (2018)
  • In the prototypical donative trust, an owner of property, called the settlor, wishes to gift the property to one or more beneficiaries.

    Academic text (2016)
  • In a trust arrangement, the settlor transfers assets to a trustee for the benefit of the beneficiaries.

  • The settlor created the trust to ensure that her children would receive financial support after her passing.

  • When establishing the trust, the settlor specified how the funds should be used for education and healthcare.

Synonyms

grantor
vssettlor
  • Specialized
2 7.9

A person who gives property or rights to someone else by a legal document

is specific to creating a trust rather than any legal transfer
transferor
vssettlor
  • Formal
1 8.6

A person who gives property or rights to someone else, often by a legal document

is specific to creating a trust not all property transfers
trustor
vssettlor
  • Specialized
9.9

A person who gives property to another person to hold and manage for someone else

is the identical legal term for the same act of creating a trust

Surface Forms

settlor singular
settlors plural

Morphology

settlor = settle (semi-transparent) = settle + or

Formed by a regular agentive suffix '-or' on 'settle', but the sense 'creator of a legal trust' is specialized and may not be obvious to general learners.

Etymology

The word settlor comes from the word settle, which means 'to place' or 'put in order', and the ending -or, which means 'a person who does something'. Think of a settlor as the person who 'sets' property into a trust for others. That's why a settlor is the person who creates a trust and gives property to a trustee for the benefit of others.