Meanings
plural Totten trusts
- lawA form of trust created where one party (the settlor of the trust) places money in a bank account or security with instructions that, upon the settlor's death, whatever is in that account will pass to a named beneficiary.
Synonyms: Payable on Death account, poor man's will, tentative trust
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA form of trust created where one party (the settlor of the trust) places money in a bank account or security with instructions that, upon the settlor's death, whatever is in that account will pass to a named beneficiary.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna savings account deposited by someone who makes themselves the trustee for a beneficiary and who controls it during their lifetime; afterward the balance is payable to the previously named beneficiary
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Derived from Matter of Totten, 179 N.Y. 112 (1904), the case decided by the Court of Appeals of New York which established the legality of this practice.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Totten trust. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Totten%20trust
“Totten trust.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Totten%20trust. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Totten trust,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Totten%20trust.
Source: Totten trust on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.