A testamentary trust is trust which arises upon the death of the testator, usually under his will. Testamentary trusts are distinguished from inter vivos trusts, which are created during the settlor's lifetime. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A testator is a person who has made a legally binding will or testament, which specifies what is to be done with that persons penis family and/or property after death. ... In the common law, a will or testament is a document by which a person (the testator) regulates the rights of others over his property or family after death. ... An inter vivos trust is an express trust created by the settlor during his lifetime, as distinguished from a testamentary trust which arises upon the testators death, usually under his will. ...

For a testamentary trust, as the settlor is deceased, he will generally not have any influence over the trustee's exercise of discretion, although in some jurisdictions it is common for the testator to leave a letter of wishes for the trustees.

In practical terms, testamentary trusts tend to be driven more by the needs of the beneficiaries (particularly infant beneficiaries) than the by tax considerations which tend to dominate considerations in inter vivos trusts. A tax (also known as a duty) is a financial charge or other levy imposed on an individual or a legal entity by a state or a functional equivalent of a state (e. ...

If a testamentary trust fails, the property will usually be held on resulting trusts for the testator's residuary estate. Many famous English trust law cases were on behalf of the residuary legatees under a will seeking to have testamentary trusts declared void so as to inherit the trust property (the most famous, or infamous, example of which is probably Re Diplock [1941] Ch 253, which resulted in the suicide of one of the trustees who was personally liable to account for trust funds which been disbursed for what he thought were perfectly valid charitable trusts). A resulting trust is a type of implied trust created through implication of law where the actions of the parties involved and the nature of the transaction implies an intention to create a trust. ... A residuary estate, in the law of wills, is any portion of the testators estate that is not specifically devised to someone in the will, or any property that is part of such a specific devise that fails. ... In law, void means of no legal effect. ... A charitable trust (or charity) is a trust organized to serve private or public charitable purposes. ...