what is a voluntary trust 
a voluntary trust is a type of living trust that is created during the lifetime of the trustor and is also known as an inter vivos trust in a voluntary trust the trustor retains the legal title of the gift transferred to the beneficiary even though the beneficiary has actual title and possession and ability to carry out actions of the trust a voluntary trust is also defined as an obligation arising out of a personal confidence reposed in and voluntarily accepted by one individual for the benefit of another this is in contrast to an involuntary trust which is created by law understanding voluntary trustsvoluntary trusts are often used in estate planning in the situations of real estate the person who controls the real estate property is known as the trustee while the individual who will receive the property after it is being held is known as the trustor the property itself is referred to as the res in a voluntary trust no consideration is made in a voluntary trust the recipient of the trust gives nothing in exchange for the trust but receives it as a pure gift by avoiding receiving something in return voluntary trusts are distinguished from trusts for value which are trusts made in favor of purchasers and mortgagees the opposite of a voluntary trust is an involuntary trust which can be further broken down into constructive or resulting trusts in some cases a voluntary trust can also simply refer to the interpersonal confidence between two individuals regarding an obligation for the benefit of each other or one individual in the relationship however in legal terms a voluntary trust is a formal structural setup that can oversee an organization s activities and in some cases its financial operations example of a voluntary trustmany types of charitable and service organizations operate voluntary funds in order to maintain operations as an example of how a voluntary trust can work one can look at the trust fund of the united nations alliance of civilizations through a special report made by the organization s high level group it was recommended the alliance establish a voluntary trust fund as the organization explains via its website the primary objectives of the trust fund are to support the projects and activities of the alliance of civilizations the activities and outreach initiatives undertaken by the high representative in his official capacity and assist with core operational and human resources needs 