The origin of the trust concept can be dated back to medieval Britain and the time of the Crusades. At that time, only men could own land or real estate. During this period a crusading knight would of necessity spend long periods of time abroad. By transferring ownership of his property to a trusted third party, the knight could be assured that his estate or business, for example his farm, could continue to function in his absence, be certain that his family would be protected during this time, and if he should die abroad he could take comfort in the fact that his family would inherit his estate.

A trust enables an individual (the "settlor") to donate assets to a neutral third party or guardian (the "trustee"), who holds the assets and administers them for the benefit of other individuals nominated by the settlor and in many cases the settlor himself (collectively, the "beneficiaries").

A trust arrangement is normally recorded in a written document (the "trust deed"), which can be put in place in one of two ways:

• By way of settlement, in which case the trust deed is signed by the settlor and the trustee; or
• By declaration of trust, in which case the trustees alone sign the trust deed.