WEISS’S CONCISE TRUSTEE HANDBOOK
1
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
THIS HANDBOOK is about the administration of Express Trusts created under the original
American common law and functioning within the unique system of commerce in the
American states, i.e., the general law merchant,
1
as it stands in twenty-first century America.
The material presented herein has been reduced from various sources which the
reader is encouraged to examine for his own knowledge and further understanding.
The
material herein has been rendered into a concise handbook format, intended to allow
the reader to refer to each section for guidance on decisions regarding the most
pertinent aspects of the administration of an Express Trust. So, only secondary
attention has been given to all other matters.
All in all, the author’s objective by this handbook is to devise a simple guide, with
clearly outlined methods and sample forms, for the effective handling of affairs of
Express Trusts, while also showing the many options for growth and prosperity, and
profound protections afforded by Express Trusts when created and administered
properly. This book is written in a somewhat unconventional manner in order to
accommodate this objective.
If the reader should find, after examining the sources, that this book has failed in
its objective, then let it be attributed to a fault of the author, not to any supposed
faultiness of the sources or the Express Trust itself. It will be admitted by all honest and
learned
2
lawyers (as it once was when a lawyer, by definition, was “learned in the law”
3
)
1
The general law merchant is embraced under general common law, i.e., the original and unique system of
commercial law in the American states, in which there is no commerce regulation of Express Trusts accept in
connection with income derived from corporate stock and physical franchises under art. I, § 8, cl. 1 and 3 of the
Constitution. See William A. Fletcher, T
HE GENERAL COMMON LAW AND SECTION 34 OF THE JUDICIARY ACT
OF
1789: THE EXAMPLE OF MARINE INSURANCE, 97 Harv. L. Rev. 1513, 1514 (1984).
2
It was the strongly held belief of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren E. Burger that seventy-five to
ninety percent of all trial lawyers are either incompetent, dishonest, or both. See 102 REPORTS OF THE
AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION, 205-206 (1978)
INTRODUCTION Page 1
TRUST BASICS Page 2
EXPRESS TRUSTS UNDER THE COMMOND LAW Page 2
DECLARATION OF THE EXPRESS TRUST Page 4
THE TRUST CORPUS Page 6
CERTIFICATES Page 8
TRUSTEE BASICS Page 10
POWERS & DUTIES OF THE TRUSTEE Page 11
PRIVILEGES & LIABILITIES OF THE TRUSTEE Page 13
AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVES Page 16
EXPRESS TRUST vs. CORPORATION Page 17
UNDERSTANDING COMMERCE Page 21
DOING BUSINESS Page 24
LIMITING LIABILITY & RISK Page 26
BANKING Page 27
TRANSFERRING ASSETS Page 29
ISSUING CERTIFICATES & BONDS Page 32
KEEPING MINUTES Page 34
PREVAILING IN LEGAL AFFAIRS Page 34
MAINTAINING PROPER I.R.S. RELATIONS Page 41
CONCLUSION Page 43
SAMPLE FORMS Page 45
