resulting trust

Legal Definition of resulting trust

Noun

1. A trust that is presumed by the court from certain situations. Similar to a constructive trust but for resulting trusts, the court presumes an intention to create a trust; the law assumes that the property is not held by the right person and that the possessor is only holding the property "in trust" for the rightful owner. In constructive trusts, the courts don't even bother with presuming an intention; they simply impose a trust from the facts.