Honorary trust

Wills, trusts and estates
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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.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Generally, rules require these elements or factors: "they cannot exist beyond the period of the rule against perpetuities, and their amounts cannot be unreasonably large for the purpose to be accomplished .. [and the] purpose must also be that of a reasonably normal testator and cannot be capricious."^[1][2] In some jurisdictions, a trust for the saying of masses may be allowed.^[1]

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, Colorado (2020)^[4] and New York has only recently allowed such trusts by statute.