Black’s Law Dictionary 1st Edition, page 1191-1192:
TRUST. An equitable or beneficial right or title to land or other property, held for the beneficiary by another person, in whom resides the legal title or ownership, recognized and enforced by chancery courts.
An obligation upon a person, arising out of a confidence reposed in him, to apply property faithfully, and according to such confidence. Willis, Trustees, c. 1, p. 2.
“A trust, in the general and enlarged sense, is a right on the part of the cestui que trust to receive the profits, and to dispose of the lands in equity.” 4 Kent, Comm. 304.
Classification. Trusts are either expres! or implied,- the former being trllsts wltich are created in so many fit and appropriate terms; the latter being trusts founded on the presuma.lJle, though unexpressed, intention of the party who creates them.
Express trusts are those created aud manifestGd by ag-reement of the parties. Implied trusts ~re sucb us are inferred by law from the nature of the transaction, or tbe conduct o! the parties. Code Ga. 1882, § 2309.
Trusts are also either executed or executory. An executed trust is one which the person creating it has fully and finally declared, whence also it is called a “complete” trust; while an executory trust is one which the person creating it bas not fully or finally declared, but has given merely an outline of it by way of direction to the convayancer. whence also it is called sometimes an “incomplete” and sometimes a “directory” trust. Brown.
Trusts are again classified as special (or active) and simple.(or passive, or dry.) The special trust is where the machinery of a trustee is introduced for the execution of some purpose particularly pointed out, and the trustee is not, as before, a mere passive depositary of the estate, but is called upon to exert himself actively in the execution of the settlor’s intention; as where a conveyance is to trustees upon trust to sell for payment of debts. Lewin, Trusts, 18. A simple trust is one which requires the performance of no duty by the trustee to carry out the trust, but by force of which the mere legal title rests in the trustee.
Public trusts. “By ‘public’ must be understood such as are constituted for the benefit either of the public at large or of some considerable portion of it answering a particular description. ‘fa this class belong all trusts for charitable purposes, and indeed ‘public trusts’ ;:\nd ·cbaritalJIt· trusts’ may be considered in general as synonymous expres- sions.” LeWin, Trusts, 20.
Private trusts. “In private trusts the beneficial interest is vested absolutely in one or more individuals, who are, or within a certain time may be, definitely ascertained, and to whom, therefore, collectively, unless under some legal disability, it is, or within the allowed limit will be, competent to control, modify, or determine the trust.” Lewin. Trusts, 20.
For a discusslon of the differencE’s between “trust” and “use.” see 50 N. H. 491.
In mercantile law. An organization of persons or corporations, formed mainly for the purpose of regulating the supply and price of commodities. etc.
Black’s Law Dictionary 2nd Edition, page 1175-1177:
TRUST. 1 . An equitable or beneficial right or title to land or other property, held for the beneficiary by another person, in whom resides the legal title or ownership,
recognized and enforced by courts of chancery. See Goodwin v. McMinn, 193 Pa. 646, 44 Atl. 1094, 75 Am. At. Rep. 703; Beers v. Lyon, 21 Conn. 613; Seymour v. Free, 8 Wall. 292, 19 nL. Ed. 306.
An obligation arising out of a confidence reposed in the trustee or representative, who has the legal title to property conveyed to him, that he will faithfully apply the property according to the confidence reposed , or, in other words, according to the wishes of the grantor of the trust. 4 Kent, Comm. 304; Willis, Trustees, 2; Beers v. Lyon, 21 Conn. 613; Thornburg v. Buck, 13 Ind. App. 446, 41 N. E. 85.
An equitable obligation, either express or implied, resting upon a person by reason of a confidence reposed in him, to apply or deal with the property for the benefit of some other person, or for the benefit of himself and another or others, according to such confidence. McCreary v. Gewinner, 103 Ga. 528, 29 S. E. 960.
A holding of property subject to a duty of employing it or applying its proceeds according to directions given by the person from whom it was derived. Munroe v. Crouse, 59 Hun, 248, 12 N. Y. Supp. 815.
69 N.W. 39; Porter v. Shaffer, 147 Va. 921, 133 S.E. 614, 616; Misamore v. Berglin, 197 Ala. 111, 72 So. 347, 349, L.R.A.1916F, 1024.
See, also, Involuntary Trust infra.
“Constructive trusts” do not arise by agreement or from intention, but by operation of law, and fraud, active or constructive, is their essential element. Actual fraud is not necessary, but such a trust will arise whenever cir- cumstances under which property was acquired made it in- equitable that it should be retained by him who holds the legal title. Constructive trusts have been said to arise through the application of the doctrine of equitable estop- pel, or unaer the broad doctrine that equity regards and treats as done what in good conscience ought to be done, and such trusts are also known as “trusts ex maleficio” or “ex delicto” or “involuntary trusts” and their forms and varieties are practically without limit, being raised by courts of equity whenever it becomes necessary to prevent a failure of justice. Union Guardian Trust Co. v. Emery, 292 Mich. 394, 290 N.W. 841, 845.
Contingent trust. An express trust depending for its operation upon a future event. Civ.Code Ga.1910, § 3734.
Direct trust. An express trust, as distinguished from a constructive or implied trust. Currence v. Ward, 43 W.Va. 367, 27 S.E. 329.
Directory trust. One which is not completely and finally settled by the instrument creating it, but only defined in its general purpose and to be carried into detail according to later specific di- rections.
Dry trust. One which merely vests the legal title in the trustee, and does not require the per- formance of any active duty on his part to carry out the trust. In re Shaw’s Estate, 198 Cal. 352, 246 P. 48, 52; Blackburn v. Blackburn, 167 Ky. 113, 180 S.W. 48, 49.
Educational trusts. Trusts for the founding, endowing, and supporting schools for the advance- ment of all useful branches of learning, which are not strictly private. Richards v. Wilson, 185 Ind. 335, 112 N.E. 780, 794.
Executed trust. A trust of which the scheme has in the outset been completely declared. Ad- ams, Eq. 151. A trust in which the estates and interest in the subject-matter of the trust are com- pletely limited and defined by the instrument creat- ing the trust, and require no further instruments to complete them. Bisp.Eq. 20; Pillot v. Landon, 46 N.J.Eq. 310, 19 A. 25; Egerton v. Brownlow, 4 H.L.Cas. 210; Mattsen v. U. S. Ensilage Har- vester Co., 171 Minn. 237, 213 N.W. 893, 895.
Executory trust. One which requires the execu- tion of some further instrument, or the doing of some further act, on the part of the creator of the trust or of the trustee, towards its complete creation or full effect. Martling v. Martling, 55 N.J.Eq. 771, 39 A. 203; Carradine v. Carradine, 33 Miss. 729; In re Fair’s Estate, 132 Cal. 523, 60 P. 442, 84 Am.St.Rep. 70; Pillot v. Landon, 46 N. J.Eq. 310, 19 A. 25.
Express active trust. Where will confers upon executor authority to generally manage property of estate and pay over net income to devisees or legatees, such authority creates an “express active trust.” In re Thomas’ Estate, 17 Wash.2d 674, 136 P.2d 1017, 1020, 147 A.L.R. 598.
Express private passive trust has been defined as existing where land is conveyed to or held by one person in trust for another, without any power being expressly or impliedly given trustee to take actual possession of land or exercise acts of own- ership over it, except by beneficiary’s direction. E]vins v. Seestedt, 141 Fla. 266, 193 So. 54, 57, 126 A.L.R. 1001.
Express trust. A trust created or declared in express terms, and usually in writing, as distin- guished from one inferred by the law from the conduct or dealings of the parties. State v. Camp- bell, 59 Kan. 246, 52 P. 454; Kaphan v. Toney, Tenn.Ch., 58 S.W. 913; Sanford v. Van Pelt, 314 Mo. 175, 282 S.W. 1022, 1030; Holsapple v. Schrontz, 65 Ind.App. 390, 117 N.E. 547, 549.
Imperfect trust. An executory trust, (which see; ) and see Executed Trust.
Implied trust. A trust raised or created by im- plication of law; a trust implied or presumed from circumstances. Wilson v. Welles, 79 Minn. 53, 81 N.W. 549; Holsapple v. Schrontz, 65 Ind. App. 390, 117 N.E. 547, 549; Springer v. Springer, 144 Md. 465, 125 A. 162, 166.
Instrumental trust. See Ministerial Trusts, in- fra.
Involuntary trust. “Involuntary” or “construc- tive” trusts embrace all those instances in which a trust is raised by the doctrines of equity, for the purpose of working out justice in the most efficient manner, when there is no intention of the parties to create a trust relation. This class of trusts may usually be referred to fraud, either actual or constructive, as an essential element. Bank v. Kimball Milling Co., 1 S.D. 388, 47 N.W. 402, 36 Am.St.Rep. 739.
Massachusetts or business trusts. See “Trust Estates as Business Companies.”
Ministerial trusts. (Also called “instrumental. trusts.”) Those which demand no further exer-x-cise of reason or understanding than every intelli- gent agent must necessarily employ; as to con- vey an estate. They are a species of special trusts, distinguished from discretionary trusts, which nec- essarily require much exercise of the understand- ing. 2 Bouv.Inst. no. 1896.
Naked trust. A dry or passive trust; one which requires no action on the part of the trustee, be- yond turning over money or property to the cestui que trust. Cerri v. Akron-People’s Telephone Co., D.C.Ohio, 219 F. 285, 292.
Passive trust. A trust as to which the trustee has no active duty to perform. Holmes v. Walter, 118 Wis. 409, 95 N.W. 380, 62 L.R.A. 986; Dixon v. Dixon, 123 Me. 470, 124 A. 198, 199.
Precatory trust. Where words employed in a will or other instrument do not amount to a positive command or to a distinct testamentary disposition, but are terms of entreaty, request, recommendation, or expectation, they are termed “precatory words,” and from such words the law will raise a trust, called a “precatory