Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist Certification (CAMS) Practice Exam

In the context of a 'Trust', who is considered the owner of the property?

1. The trustee

2. The beneficiary

3. The grantor

4. The successor trustee

The correct answer is: The grantor

In the context of a 'Trust', the correct answer identifies the grantor as the individual who contributes assets to the trust and establishes its terms. The grantor holds the original ownership of the property before it is transferred into the trust. Once the trust is established, the trustee is responsible for managing and administering the property according to the provisions set forth by the grantor. However, ownership of the property itself is transferred from the grantor to the trust, which is a legal entity. The trustee acts as a fiduciary, managing the assets for the benefit of the beneficiaries as outlined by the grantor in the trust document. The beneficiaries are those who receive the benefits from the trust but do not own the property outright. In some cases, upon the death of the grantor or upon fulfillment of certain conditions, the ownership may transfer to the beneficiaries, but until that point, the grantor remains the owner who retains ultimate control over the trust’s operation through the terms established at its creation. The successor trustee is a person who may step in to manage the trust when the original trustee can no longer perform their duties, but this individual does not have ownership over the property either. Thus, the role of each party involved clearly delineates that the grantor