Can the sole beneficiary of a trust be the sole trustee of the trust?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from Ammco Ornamental Iron, Inc. v. Wing, 26 Cal.App.4th 409, 31 Cal.Rptr.2d 564 (Cal. App. 1994):

It is without dispute the sole beneficiary of a trust cannot be the sole trustee of the trust. "It is based on the established principle that if the rule were otherwise the legal title and the entire beneficial interest would be merged in the same person who could fully dispose of the property as any other owner. In other words there would be no separation of the legal and beneficial interest and hence no trust relationship." (Hill v. Conover (1961) 191 Cal.App.2d 171, 180, 12 Cal.Rptr. 522; Rest.2d Trusts, 99,

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