Legal Definitions - trust corpus

The trust corpus refers to the entire collection of assets or property that is legally transferred into and held by a trust. It is the fundamental "body" of the trust, comprising everything from money, investments, and real estate to personal belongings or business interests. These assets are owned and managed by a trustee for the benefit of designated individuals or entities, known as beneficiaries, according to the specific instructions outlined in the trust agreement. For a trust to be legally valid, it must have a clearly defined trust corpus.

Here are a few examples to illustrate the concept of a trust corpus:

• Example 1: Financial Assets for Education

  Sarah establishes a trust to manage funds specifically for her niece's future college expenses. She transfers $100,000 from her savings account, along with a portfolio of blue-chip stocks, into the trust. In this scenario, the trust corpus consists of the $100,000 cash and the stock portfolio. These are the specific financial assets that the trustee will manage and invest to grow for the niece's educational benefit.

• Example 2: Real Estate for Heirs

  Mr. Henderson creates a living trust to ensure his beloved vacation cabin passes smoothly to his children after his death, thereby avoiding the lengthy probate process. He legally transfers the title of the cabin into the name of the trust. Here, the vacation cabin itself, as a piece of real estate, forms the entire trust corpus. The trustee now legally holds the cabin for the benefit of Mr. Henderson's children, managing it according to his wishes.

• Example 3: Mixed Assets and Intellectual Property

  An artist, wishing to preserve her unique collection of original paintings and the intellectual property rights to her entire body of work for her grandchildren, sets up a specialized trust. She assigns the ownership of twenty specific paintings and the copyrights to her entire artistic portfolio to the trust. The trust corpus in this situation includes both tangible assets (the physical paintings) and intangible assets (the copyrights). These are the valuable properties that the trustee is responsible for protecting, managing, and potentially licensing, all for the benefit of the artist's grandchildren.