| n. | 1. | (Law) A person to whom property is legally committed in trust, to be applied either for the benefit of specified individuals, or for public uses; one who is intrusted with property for the benefit of another; also, a person in whose hands the effects of another are attached in a trustee process.
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| v. t. | 1. | To commit (property) to the care of a trustee; | |||
| 2. | (Law) To attach (a debtor's wages, credits, or property in the hands of a third person) in the interest of the creditor. | ||||
| Noun | 1. | trustee - a person (or institution) to whom legal title to property is entrusted to use for another's benefit Synonyms: legal guardian |
| 2. | trustee - members of a governing board Synonyms: regent |
TRUSTEE, estates. A trustee is one to whom an estate has been conveyed in
trust.
2. The trust estate is not subject to the specialty or judgment debts
of the trustee, to the dower of his wife, or the curtesy of the husband of a
female trustee.
3. With respect to the duties of trustees, it is held, in conformity to
the old law of uses, that pernancy of the profits, execution of estates, and
defence of the land, are the three great properties of a trust, so that the
courts of chancery will compel trustees, 1. To permit the cestui que trust
to receive the rents and profits of the land. 2. To execute such
conveyances, in accordance with the provisions of the trust, as the cestui
que trust shall direct. 3. To defend the title of the land in any court of
law or equity. Cruise, Dig. tit. 12, c. 4, s. 4.
4. It has been judiciously remarked by Mr. Justice Story, 2 Eq. Jur.
Sec. 1267, that in a great variety of cases, it is not easy to say what the
duty of a trustee is; and that therefore, it often becomes indispensable for
him, before he acts, to seek, the aid and direction of a court of equity.
Fonb. Eq. book 2, c. 7, Sec. 2, and note c. Vide Vin. Ab. tit. Trusts, O, P,
Q, R, S, T; Bouv. Inst. Index, h.t.