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Trusts

Settlor

set·tlor

Also called Grantor, Trustor

Short Definition

The specific person who creates a trust and transfers their own assets into it during their lifetime. In a typical revocable living trust, the settlor also initially serves as its own trustee, managing those assets until death.

In a Sale

What This Means When the House Is Being Sold

Where a settlor is also serving as the original trustee, as is common, their death is what triggers the transition to a successor trustee, and it is that successor's authority, not the settlor's original role, that title relies on going forward. Confirming who the settlor was and who the trust names as successor is often the first step in sorting out authority on a trust sale.

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Not to Be Confused With

What Tells Them Apart

A settlor creates the trust and puts assets into it. A trustee, who may initially be the same person as the settlor, manages those assets under the trust's terms. Successor Trustee specifically refers to whoever steps into that management role once the original trustee, often the settlor, can no longer serve.

Questions

Questions People Ask

The settlor has died. Who has authority to sell the house now?

The successor trustee named in the trust. Where a settlor was also serving as the original trustee, which is common, their death is what triggers that transition, and it is the successor's authority that title relies on going forward. Confirming who the trust names as successor is usually the first step.

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