Trust corpus means the property, funds, or assets held and administered inside a trust.
The corpus is the trust’s principal property. It may include cash, investments, real estate, business interests, personal property, or other assets transferred into the trust.
Why trust corpus matters
Trust terms only matter if there is trust property to administer. The trust corpus determines what the trustee controls, what beneficiaries may receive, and what accounting or investment duties apply.
Disputes often focus on whether property was actually transferred into the trust, whether the trustee preserved the corpus, and how income or distributions should be handled.
Where it appears
Trust corpus appears in living trusts, irrevocable trusts, estate planning, trust accountings, beneficiary disputes, tax planning, asset transfers, and probate-avoidance planning.
How it differs from nearby terms
Trust corpus is different from the trust itself. The trust is the legal arrangement; the corpus is the property held under that arrangement.
It is also different from the beneficiary. The beneficiary is a person or entity with a beneficial interest; the corpus is the property from which that interest may be satisfied.
Practical example
A grantor creates a revocable trust and transfers a brokerage account and a home into it. Those assets become part of the trust corpus, subject to the trustee’s duties and the trust document’s distribution terms.
Related terms
Quick check
Trust corpus answers what property the trust holds. Trustee answers who manages that property.