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Honorary trust |
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| Wills, trusts and estates |
| Part of the common law series |
| Wills |
| Wills (legal history) Joint wills and mutual wills Will contract · Codicil Holographic will · Oral will |
| Sections Attestation clause Residuary clause Incorporation by reference |
| Contest Testamentary capacity Undue influence Insane delusion · Fraud |
| Property disposition Lapse and anti-lapse Ademption · Abatement Elective share Pretermitted heir |
| Trusts |
| Express · Constructive Resulting |
| Common types Bare · Discretionary Accumulation and Maintenance Interest in possession Charitable · Purpose · Incentive |
| Other types Protective · Spendthrift Life insurance · Remainder Life interest Reversionary interest Honorary · Asset-protection |
| Governing doctrines Pour-over will Cy-près doctrine |
| Estate administration |
| Intestacy · Testator · Probate Power of appointment Simultaneous death · Slayer rule Disclaimer of interest · Inheritance tax |
| Related topics |
| Totten trust |
| Other common law areas |
| Contract · Tort · Property Criminal law · Evidence |
An honorary trust, under the law of trusts, is a device by which a person establishes a trust for which there is neither a charitable purpose, nor a private beneficiary to enforce the trust. While such a trust would normally be void for lack of a beneficiary, many jurisdictions have carved out two specific exceptions to this rule: trusts for the care of that person's pets; and trusts to provide for the maintenance of cemetery plots.
The name of the device derives from the lack of any beneficiary legally capable of enforcing an honorary trust: the trustee is bound by honor, but not by law, to carry out the wishes of the creator of the trust.
Like many states, New York has only recently allowed such trusts by statute.