A trustee is an individual or entity that holds the properties (corpus) of a trustee for the advantage of the beneficiaries and manages the trust as well as its assets under the stipulations of the trust mentioned in the declaration of trust which produced it.

In lots of “living trusts” the originator of the trust (trustor, settlor, grantor) names him or herself (or themselves) as the original trustee that will handle the trust up until his or her death when it is assumed by a replacement trustee. In some trusts the trustee should be independent and therefore can not be the originator of the trust. He or she holds title just for the advantage of the trust as well as its beneficiaries if a trustee has title to real estate.