what is a declaration of trust 
a declaration of trust under u s law is a document or an oral statement appointing a trustee to oversee assets being held for the benefit of one or more other individuals these assets are held in a trust the document or statement also contains details of the trust s purpose its beneficiaries and how it will be managed by the trustee the declaration of trust is sometimes referred to as a nominee declaration understanding a declaration of trusta declaration of trust not only appoints a trustee but defines the trust to be created in considerable detail it identifies the assets held within the trust it states who will benefit from the trust and who can amend or revoke the trust as well as the name of the trustee and what powers the trustee holds the trustee may be a financial institution rather than an individual the statement may include instructions on how and when the beneficiary will receive distributions the declaration provides an overview of the trust s purpose or objectives and how the trustee may invest and manage assets to support the beneficiaries it also may explain who will replace the trustee in the event of illness incapacitation death or any other reason some states require a declaration of trust to be made in writing while others will permit oral declarations state laws also govern how a declaration of trust is applied to all those involved in the operation of the trust including grantors trustees and beneficiaries a declaration of trust has a different meaning in the u k there it establishes the joint ownership of a property that is being held for the benefit of one or more individuals other than the official owner it is governed by the trustee act of 2000 the u s and the u k have different definitions of the declaration of trust with a declaration of trust an individual may be regarded as the owner of a property even if that person is not designated as the owner in the land registry the trust itself can be cited in the land registry to show that the listed owner is not the sole owner of the property for example a person may purchase a home with a mortgage some of the money towards the purchase may come from the person s parents the parents would contribute towards the costs with the agreement that they will receive a share of any profit from the property s sale the person creating the declaration of trust would be the registered owner on the title deeds of the property but the parents can register their interests on the trust deed 