An honorary trust is a trust that does not have a human or organizational beneficiary. Because of this, a trustee is said to be “on his or her honor” to carry out the wishes of the creator of the trust as established in the trust document. People generally create an honorary trust to care for pets left behind after death or to maintain their burial grounds. Different states have different laws governing how long these trusts can last. But generally if the trust is for the care of a pet it lasts for the life of the pet. If the trust is to care for the burial grounds, the trust might last anywhere from 21 years to a lifetime, plus 21 years.
