Fiduciary

Definition

• An individual, company or association responsible for managing someone else's assets. Fiduciaries include executors of wills and estates, trustees, receivers in bankruptcy and those responsible for managing the finances of a minor.

Synonyms
custodian, executor, agent, depositary, trustee, curator

Related Terms and Acronyms

• Bankruptcy (BK) — Acronym, Important,
  • A court action under the Federal Bankruptcy Code by which a debtor's debts may be discharged, usually by transferring assets to a trustee, or rescheduled.
• Bankruptcy Trustee — Definition,
  • A private individual or corporation appointed to undertake bankruptcy proceedings for a individual or corporation.
• Business Bankruptcy — Definition,
  • A bankruptcy case in which the debtor is a business or an individual involved in business and the debts are for business purposes.
• Contingent Beneficiary — Definition,
  • A beneficiary who only receives his or her benefit when specific conditions have been met.
• Estate Planning — Definition,
  • The process of determining how assets will be dispersed after an individual's death, ideally in the most tax-efficient way possible.
• Executor — Definition,
  • The person who manages the estate of a deceased individual.
• Fiduciary Duty — Definition,
  • A requirement that someone in a position of trust, such as a banker, real-estate agent, or title agent, must act in good faith and trust on behalf of a client.
• Informal Trust — Definition,
  • Also known as in-trust account or "bare" trust, this is an investment account registered in an adult's name in trust for a child. The account is used to save/invest funds for a child, and the funds must be reserved for and used by the beneficiary child.
• Probate — Definition,
  • The process of deciding the validity of a deceased person's will and appointing an executor.
• Probate Sale — Definition,
  • Sale of property after the death of the owner, supervised by a court, with proceeds divided among creditors and heirs.
• Sprinkling Provision — Definition,
  • A provision that gives a trustee the authority to distribute life insurance death benefits as he or she sees fit, and to those who need the money the most.
• Survivorship — Definition,
  • The right of a person to secure ownership by reason of his/her outliving someone with whom s/he shared undivided interest in the land.
• Trust — Definition,
  • A fund established like a will, specifying how money or property will be disbursed, lists the recipients or beneficiaries and names one or more trustees to manage the assets. An irrevocable trust can't be changed after the terms are finalized; a revocable trust has more legroom in how much can be transferred, but is usually costlier to maintain.
• Trust Company — Definition,
  • A company that acts as a trustee (an entity that controls financial assets on the behalf of another).
• Will — Definition,
  • A document that states what must be done with a person's estate after his or her death.