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Terms Used In Maryland Code, ESTATES AND TRUSTS 14.5-402

  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Person: includes an individual, receiver, trustee, guardian, personal representative, fiduciary, representative of any kind, corporation, partnership, business trust, statutory trust, limited liability company, firm, association, or other nongovernmental entity. See
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
(a) A trust is created only if:

(1) The settlor has capacity to create a trust;

(2) The settlor indicates an intention to create the trust;

(3) The trust has a definite beneficiary or is:

(i) A charitable trust;

(ii) A trust for the care of an animal, as provided in § 14.5-407 of this subtitle; or

(iii) A trust for a noncharitable purpose, as provided in § 14.5-408 of this subtitle; and

(4) The trustee has duties to perform.

(b) A beneficiary is definite if the beneficiary can be ascertained now or in the future, subject to any applicable rule against perpetuities.

(c) (1) A power in a trustee or in another person under the terms of the trust to select a beneficiary from an indefinite class is valid.

(2) If the power described in paragraph (1) of this subsection is not exercised within a reasonable time, the power fails and the property subject to the power passes to the persons that would have taken the property had the power not been conferred.