In a trust nobody owns the assets in the usual sense. The trustee is the legal owner but administers for others; the settlor contributed the assets and parted with them; the beneficiaries hold expectations that are often at the trustee’s discretion. A Form A asking for the beneficial owner does not fit. That is why CDB 20 provides a separate form.
What is recorded
Form T states the trust’s name and records the people who shape it: the effective settlor, meaning the person who actually contributed the assets even if someone else acted formally; the trustees; a protector, if any; the beneficiaries, by name or as a defined class; and persons who can revoke the trust or instruct the trustee. It is usually signed by the trustee as contracting party.
Discretionary beneficiaries
In discretionary trusts the beneficiaries are often fixed only as a class, such as “the settlor’s descendants”. In practice describing the class is sufficient as long as nobody has a fixed entitlement. At the latest when a distribution is made to a specific person, that person must be known and documented. Anyone handling distributions through a bank relationship should anchor this moment in the process.
Common errors
The CDB supervisory board has held that a Form T that does not name the trust is insufficient. Other typical gaps: a formal settlor instead of the effective one, a forgotten protector with far-reaching powers, or a form not renewed after the trust deed changed. Because the form has evidentiary value, knowingly false statements are a criminal offence.
Trusts, foundations and the register
Non-operating foundations use the sister form, Form S. A trust is not a legal person and is not itself subject to the TJPG reporting duty, but the companies it holds may be. Anyone administering structures with trusts and intermediate companies therefore needs a view that connects both levels.