<P> The trustee is the legal owner of the property in trust, as fiduciary for the beneficiary or beneficiaries who is / are the equitable owner (s) of the trust property . Trustees thus have a fiduciary duty to manage the trust to the benefit of the equitable owners . They must provide a regular accounting of trust income and expenditures . Trustees may be compensated and be reimbursed their expenses . A court of competent jurisdiction can remove a trustee who breaches his / her fiduciary duty . Some breaches of fiduciary duty can be charged and tried as criminal offences in a court of law . </P> <P> A trustee can be a natural person, a business entity or a public body . A trust in the United States may be subject to federal and state taxation . </P> <P> A trust is created by a settlor, who transfers title to some or all of his or her property to a trustee, who then holds title to that property in trust for the benefit of the beneficiaries . The trust is governed by the terms under which it was created . In most jurisdictions, this requires a contractual trust agreement or deed . It is possible for a single individual to assume the role of more than one of these parties, and for multiple individuals to share a single role . For example, in a living trust it is common for the grantor to be both a trustee and a lifetime beneficiary while naming other contingent beneficiaries . </P> <P> Trusts have existed since Roman times and have become one of the most important innovations in property law . Trust law has evolved through court rulings differently in different states, so statements in this article are generalizations; understanding the jurisdiction - specific case law involved is tricky . Some U.S. states are adapting the Uniform Trust Code to codify and harmonize their trust laws, but state - specific variations still remain . </P>

Can a founder of a trust be a beneficiary