Totten Trust

A Totten trust, or "bank account trust" is a tentative trust in which a grantor makes himself/herself trustee of his/her own funds for the benefit of another. Typically this is done by an individual depositing funds in a savings account and either titling the account or filing a writing with the bank indicating he/she is trustee of the account for another person. The trustee can revoke a Totten trust at any time. Should the trustee die without revoking the trust, ownership of the money passes to the beneficiary. Totten trusts are valid in most jurisdictions, but other jurisdictions have held them invalid because they are too tentative, i.e., they lack formal requirements and do not state a trust intent or purpose.

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