Precatory Trust Law and Legal Definition
Precatory trust is an express trust that the law will recognize to carry out the wishes of the testator or grantor even though the statement in question is in the nature of an entreaty or recommendation rather than a positive command. Normally trust language should express a present intent to create legally enforceable duties on the trustee in order to have trust intent. If there is no trust intent, the trust fails. When precatory words are used the courts look at the fiduciary and familial relationships to find the intent to create legally enforceable duties.
Usually precatory words create an express trust if they satisfy three certainties.
1. words (intent)
2. subject (the property and beneficial interests)
3. object (beneficiaries or benefiting causes)
