I intend to form a trust in favour of my son, who is 38 years old, to meet his retirement needs. How should I go about this and what precautions should I take? Can I also bequeath my house to this trust? I am governed by Hindu laws.
—Meena Shah
I am assuming that the trust you intend on setting up is a private trust for the sole benefit of your son. As per the Indian Trust Act, 1882, a trust may be created for any lawful purpose and may be formed by the settlor (the person creating the trust) in her life time by a non-testamentary instrument or thereafter, through a testamentary instrument (a Will).
If the trust is created for the sole benefit of your son (where he is the sole beneficiary under the trust) and he is competent to contract, then pursuant to Section 56 of the Indian Trust Act, he would be entitled at any time to require the trustee to transfer the trust property to him or to such person as he may direct, in which event, the trust will come to an end.
