Indiana Code

Ind. Code § 30-4-1-1 (2026)

Definition of "trust"; relationships excluded from this article; transferability of employee benefit trust

✓ current as of May 2026
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     Sec. 1. (a) A trust is a fiduciary relationship between a person who, as trustee, holds title to property and another person for whom, as beneficiary, the title is held.

     (b) Subject to IC 30-4-2-8, the same person may be both the trustee and a beneficiary.

     (c) The rules of law contained in this article do not apply to:

(1) trusts created by operation of law;

(2) business trusts (as defined in IC 23-5-1);

(3) security instruments and creditor arrangements;

(4) voting trusts;

(5) religious, educational, and cultural institutions, created in other than trust form, except with respect to the application of IC 30-4-5-18 through IC 30-4-5-23 as those sections relate to the maintenance of federal income tax exemption privileges to which an institution is entitled;

(6) corporations and other entities governed by IC 23-17, except with respect to IC 30-4-5-18 through IC 30-4-5-23 as those sections relate to the maintenance of federal income tax exemption privileges to which a corporation or other entity is entitled;

(7) except as provided in this article for trusts for a benevolent public purpose and as provided in the Indiana uniform prudent investor act (IC 30-4-3.5):

(A) prepaid funeral plans;

(B) trusts for the care and upkeep of cemeteries; and

(C) agreements to furnish funeral services; and

(8) trusts created or authorized by statute other than this article.

     (d) IC 30-4-3-2(a) applies to an employee benefit trust that meets the requirements set forth in IC 30-4-3-2(c). However, no other provision of this article applies to an employee benefit trust.

Formerly: Acts 1971, P.L.416, SEC.2; Acts 1972, P.L.11, SEC.12. As amended by P.L.287-1987, SEC.1; P.L.41-2000, SEC.1; P.L.61-2008, SEC.12.

 

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 18 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1986–2024 · leading case: Hays v. Harmon, 809 N.E.2d 460 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004).
Hays v. Harmon, 809 N.E.2d 460 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 11× “Since its enactment in 1971, the Trust Code Study Commission Comments to the Indiana Code § 30-4-1-1 7 have included the following statement: "The rules of law in this code apply only to personal trusts.”
Est. of Owen v. Lyke, 855 N.E.2d 603 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 4× “Ind.Code § 30-4-1-1(a). [4] Owen also requested $4,500 be set aside from the next harvest to pay taxes and plant the next crop.”
Harold O. Fulp, Jr. v. Nancy A. Gilliland, 998 N.E.2d 204 (Ind. 2013). · cites it 4× “" See Ind.Code § 30-4-1-1(a) (2004). A set-tlor creates a revocable trust by executing the trust agreement, at which time the trustee takes legal title to the property, and the beneficiary takes equitable title.”
Williams v. Orentlicher, 939 N.E.2d 663 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010). · cites it 4× “, Ind.Code §§ 30-4-1-1, 30-4-3.5-1 to -13. That is, the Trustees brought suit against Williams and Frankel on grounds independent of the employment agreements with the ISTA.”
Goins v. Riddle, 946 N.E.2d 61 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 2× “Turning to the issues at hand, a trust is typically characterized as “a fiduciary relationship between a person who, as trustee, holds title to property and another person for whom, as beneficiary, the title is held.”
Jeri Good v. Indiana Teachers Ret. Fund, 31 N.E.3d 978 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 2× “But Indiana Code Section 30-4-1-1 (c)(8) provides that the rules of law contained in the Trust Code do not apply to "trusts created or authorized by statute other than this article,” and Good has not established that INPRS was created or authorized by the Trust Code.”
Lake Ridge New Tech Sch. v. Bank of N.Y. Mellon, Trust Co., N.A., 353 F. Supp. 3d 745 (N.D. Ind. 2018). · cites it 2× “Indiana Code § 30-4-1-1(a) states that a "trust is a fiduciary relationship between a person who, as trustee, holds title to property and another person for whom, as beneficiary, the title is held.”
Matter of Della Lustgarten Nathan Trust, 638 N.E.2d 789 (Ind. 1994). · cites it 2× “The Trust Code declares that "[t]he rules of law contained in this article shall be interpreted and applied to the terms of the trust so as to implement the intent of the settlor and the purposes of the trust.”
Matter of Carl F. Bettner Trust, 495 N.E.2d 194 (Ind. Ct. App. 1986). · cites it 2× “Indiana Code section 30-4-1-1. If the beneficiary holds legal title, the trust is invalid.”
Drewry v. Metro. Life Ins. (In Re Drewry), 99 B.R. 906 (Bankr. N.D. Ind. 1989). · cites it 2× “” Ind.Code Ann. § 30-4-1-1 (Burns Supp.1988).”
Carter v. City of East Chicago, 881 N.E.2d 1114 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 2× “Ind.Code § 30-4-1-1. While money might be one type of property held in a trust, it cannot be the "fiduciary relationship” that is the essence of a trust.”
Ricketts v. Bettner, 495 N.E.2d 194 (Ind. Ct. App. 1986). · cites it 2× “Indiana Code section 30-4-1-1. If the beneficiary holds legal title, the trust is invalid.”
— Ind. Code § 30-4-1-1(6) — 1 case
Hays v. Harmon, 809 N.E.2d 460 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004). “Since its enactment in 1971, the Trust Code Study Commission Comments to the Indiana Code § 30-4-1-1 7 have included the following statement: "The rules of law in this code apply only to personal trusts.”
— Ind. Code § 30-4-1-1(a) — 7 cases
Est. of Owen v. Lyke, 855 N.E.2d 603 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006). “Ind.Code § 30-4-1-1(a). [4] Owen also requested $4,500 be set aside from the next harvest to pay taxes and plant the next crop.”
Harold O. Fulp, Jr. v. Nancy A. Gilliland, 998 N.E.2d 204 (Ind. 2013). “" See Ind.Code § 30-4-1-1(a) (2004). A set-tlor creates a revocable trust by executing the trust agreement, at which time the trustee takes legal title to the property, and the beneficiary takes equitable title.”
Hays v. Harmon, 809 N.E.2d 460 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004). “Since its enactment in 1971, the Trust Code Study Commission Comments to the Indiana Code § 30-4-1-1 7 have included the following statement: "The rules of law in this code apply only to personal trusts.”
Goins v. Riddle, 946 N.E.2d 61 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011). “Turning to the issues at hand, a trust is typically characterized as “a fiduciary relationship between a person who, as trustee, holds title to property and another person for whom, as beneficiary, the title is held.”
Lake Ridge New Tech Sch. v. Bank of N.Y. Mellon, Trust Co., N.A., 353 F. Supp. 3d 745 (N.D. Ind. 2018). “Indiana Code § 30-4-1-1(a) states that a "trust is a fiduciary relationship between a person who, as trustee, holds title to property and another person for whom, as beneficiary, the title is held.”
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