Legal Definitions - trust merger

Trust merger is a situation where the trustee and the beneficiary of a trust are the same person or entity. In this case, the trustee's legal ownership of the trust property and the beneficiary's interest become one, and the trust ceases to exist.

John creates a trust and names himself as the trustee and his daughter as the beneficiary. However, John later decides to change the terms of the trust and names himself as the sole beneficiary. This action results in a trust merger, and the trust is dissolved.

Another example is when a company creates a trust for its employees and names itself as the trustee. If the company later decides to dissolve the trust and distribute the assets to the employees, a trust merger occurs.

These examples illustrate how trust merger occurs when the trustee and beneficiary become the same person or entity, resulting in the dissolution of the trust.