Considering Quiet Trusts in the Larger Picture of Family Governance

Although they’re called “quiet” trusts, we hear about these now more than ever. By quiet trusts, I’m referring to trusts that permit keeping the existence of the trust or information about the trust from the beneficiaries. Many times, the statutes permitting quiet trusts also provide that the information can be sent to a surrogate for the beneficiary, and that surrogate will represent and bind the beneficiary. These are also called “silent trusts” or “confidential trusts,” but no matter what