What is a testamentary trust?

What is a Testamentary Trust?

Introduction

A will is the only way in which you can determine what happens with your assets after you die.

The person you nominate to make these decisions for you after your death is usually called the executor and often the trustee of your estate because their role is to hold and distribute the estate assets as trustee for the beneficiaries of your estate.

A trust set up by a will is known as a "testamentary trust" and therefore does not come into existence until the death of the will-maker (usually called "the testator"). It can be discretionary, non-discretionary ("fixed") or a combination of the two ("hybrid") as in the case of trusts set up during one's lifetime (called "family trusts" or "inter vivos trusts").