A Settlor is a person who settles property on Trust for the benefit of beneficiaries and in the case of an Offshore Trust includes the person who is responsible at law for establishing the Trust.

In some legal systems, a Settlor is also referred to as a trustor, or occasionally, as a grantor or donor. Where the trust is a testamentary trust, the Settlor is usually referred to as the Testator.

The Settlor may also be the Trustee of the Trust (eg where he or she declares that he or she holds his or her own property on Trust for someone else).

An Offshore Trust is usually formed by the Settlor requesting the Trust Formation Agent to establish a Trust on certain conditions and is usually followed by the moving of legal ownership of certain property to the Trustee to hold under the terms of the trust for the benefit of the proposed Trust’s Beneficiaries.

A minimum of one Settlor is usually required. If however assets which are jointly owned by two (or more) persons are to be transferred to the Trust it may be more appropriate for the Trust to be established at the request of all owners of the property as (joint) Settlors.