(a) A trust is created only if:

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Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 554D-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
  • Beneficiary: means a person who:

    (1) Has a present or future beneficial interest in a trust, vested or contingent; or
    (2) In a capacity other than that of trustee, holds a power of appointment over trust property. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 554D-103
  • Charitable trust: means a trust, or portion of a trust, created for a charitable purpose described in section -405(a). See Hawaii Revised Statutes 554D-103
  • Person: means an individual; corporation; business trust; estate; trust; partnership; limited liability company; association; joint venture; government; governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality; public corporation; or any other legal or commercial entity. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 554D-103
  • Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. Source: OCC
  • Property: means anything that may be the subject of ownership, whether real or personal, legal or equitable, or any interest therein. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 554D-103
  • Settlor: means a person, including a testator, who creates, or contributes property to, a trust. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 554D-103
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
  • Trustee: includes an original, additional, and successor trustee, and a cotrustee. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 554D-103
(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:

(A) A charitable trust;
(B) A trust for the care of an animal, as provided in section -408; or
(C) A trust for a noncharitable purpose, as provided in section -409; 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) 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. If the power is not exercised within a reasonable time, the power fails and the property subject to the power passes to the persons who would have taken the property had the power not been conferred.
(d) Notwithstanding subsection (a)(1), a trust created by an agent under power of attorney is valid if:

(1) The trust is created by an agent of the settlor under a power of attorney that specifically authorizes the creation of a trust; and
(2) The settlor had capacity to create a trust when the power of attorney was executed.