What Are the Big 4 Criteria for Trust?
Thinking of setting up a trust? Whether it's for your business, your family, or that investment property in Fitzroy, you’ll want to make sure you get the foundations right. Trusts can be powerful tools — but only if they’re legally sound. And that’s where the Big 4 criteria come in. In Australia, a trust isn’t just something you scribble on a napkin with a mate over a long black. For a trust legal structure to be legit, it has to meet four essential criteria. Let’s break them down. What Are the Big 4 Criteria for Trust? 1. Intention – You Have to Mean It The first (and arguably most important) ingredient: clear intention. There must be a clear intention by the settlor to create a trust. It’s not enough to casually hand something over and hope the other person does the right thing. You’ve got to clearly show you’re setting up a trust where one party (the trustee ) holds and manages assets for someone else’s benefit (the beneficiaries ). In plain speak? If you want to buil...