Trusts in Quebec

Abstract

The use of the trust is a relatively new phenomenon in Quebec. Although some form of a trust was provided for in the 19th century, this civil law version was extremely limited in its operation and posed a number of significant theoretical problems that were never clearly resolved. Foremost among these was the fact that the common law’s distinction between equitable and legal ownership did not sit well with the civil law notion of absolute ownership. The modern Code civil du Québec1 (CcQ) altered this situation with a dramatic reconfiguring of the law of trusts by creating a civil law version of the trust that not only addressed the theoretical problems but provided for a more versatile form of trust better suited to modern commercial and property law principles.