A trust founded on contract, not statute. The original form — predating all modern trust codes.
A Pure Trust (also called a Common Law Trust or Contractual Trust) is a non-statutory trust founded on the common law of contracts rather than modern trust statutes. It operates under the principle that private parties have a constitutional right to contract, and that a trust is fundamentally a contractual relationship between the settlor, trustee, and beneficiaries. Pure trusts are not registered with any government entity and operate outside statutory trust codes.
Forged in Trust's pure trust platform generates instruments grounded in common law trust principles with rigorous attention to trust res, fiduciary duties, and the contractual nature of the trust relationship. This is advanced legal craftsmanship for those who understand the distinction between statutory and common law trusts.
A Pure Trust — the original trust form — operates on common law contract principles without any statutory incorporation. The settlor transfers property to a trustee under a private contract that defines the trustee's duties, the beneficiaries' rights, and the trust's duration. No government charter, registration, or filing creates the trust — it exists because the parties contracted for it to exist. The trust instrument is the complete source of authority; there is no statutory code filling gaps or imposing default rules.
The Pure Trust protects privacy and autonomy by existing outside statutory trust codes. Statutory disclosure requirements, court supervision defaults, and regulatory reporting obligations that attach to trusts created under the Uniform Trust Code do not apply. The trust is enforced through contract law remedies — breach of contract, specific performance, and equitable remedies — rather than through trust code enforcement mechanisms. The constitutional protection of private contracts (Article I, Section 10) provides the ultimate backstop against governmental interference with the trust relationship.
A Pure Trust is the original trust form. It predates the Uniform Trust Code. It predates the Restatement of Trusts. It predates every modern statutory trust code enacted in the last century. A Pure Trust exists because the settlor, trustee, and beneficiaries contracted for it to exist — not because a state legislature passed a statute authorizing it. The trust instrument — the private contract between the parties — is the complete and exclusive source of governing law. No statutory default rules fill gaps. No state court supervision attaches automatically. No registration with any government entity is required. This is the trust form that existed before governments decided to regulate trusts. It still exists. It still works. And it is the vehicle our clients use when they want maximum privacy and autonomy.
Most estate planning attorneys will tell you a revocable living trust is the only option. They will tell you trusts must comply with the Uniform Trust Code. They will tell you non-statutory trusts are "risky" or "not recognized." None of this is true. Pure Trusts have been recognized by U.S. courts for over a century. The U.S. Supreme Court confirmed in United States v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co., 309 U.S. 506 (1940), that trusts are fundamentally contractual relationships. Attorneys who dismiss Pure Trusts are either unfamiliar with common-law trust jurisprudence or unwilling to draft instruments outside the statutory templates their software generates. Either way, you pay more for less protection.
Statutory trusts are creatures of the state. They exist under the state's trust code, subject to the state's default rules, the state's disclosure requirements, and the state's court supervision. A Pure Trust exists under the common law of contracts — the same law that has enforced private agreements for centuries before legislatures existed. Article I, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution prohibits states from impairing the obligation of contracts. This constitutional protection applies to the Pure Trust instrument. When a Pure Trust says the trustee has specific duties and the beneficiaries have specific rights, those terms are constitutionally protected against governmental interference. Statutory trusts cannot make this claim — the legislature that created them can change the rules at any time.
You are buying a trust instrument built on the constitutional right to contract — zero hedging, zero AI-generated boilerplate, zero judicial deference. Every clause affirmatively establishes the trust's existence under common law, not under any state's statutory trust code. The instrument defines trustee duties, beneficiary rights, trust res, and dispute resolution with the precision of a commercial contract, not the ambiguity of a statutory trust form. No clause invites the application of state trust statutes. No clause suggests the trust is subject to the Uniform Trust Code. No clause defers to any court's equitable authority to modify trust terms. The instrument stands on its own authority — the authority of a private contract between competent parties.
After creation: (1) Execute the trust instrument with all parties signing before witnesses and a notary. (2) Issue certificates of beneficial interest to each beneficiary, documenting their beneficial share. (3) Transfer assets into the trust via assignment documents, deeds, or bills of sale executed in favor of the trustee. (4) Maintain a trust minute book recording all trustee meetings, resolutions, and major decisions. (5) Establish and maintain a certificate register tracking all beneficial interest issuances and transfers. (6) Open bank accounts in the trust's name using the trust's EIN. (7) File annual fiduciary tax returns (Form 1041). (8) Hold annual trustee meetings with written minutes — these minutes are the trust's operational history and evidence of proper administration.
The Pure Trust is the original trust form — a common law trust created by private contract, not by statute. It predates the Uniform Trust Code, the Restatement of Trusts, and every modern statutory trust code. Its legal foundation rests on the common law of England and the constitutional right to contract: two or more competent parties may agree to create a trust relationship with defined rights, duties, and remedies, and that agreement is enforceable under contract law regardless of whether it conforms to statutory trust codes.
A Pure Trust is not an IRS statutory trust. It is not subject to the default rules of the Uniform Trust Code. It is not registered with any government entity. The trust instrument — the contract between settlor, trustee, and beneficiaries — is the complete source of governing law for the trust relationship. Statutory provisions apply only to the extent the trust instrument expressly incorporates them.
This is not a loophole or an avoidance mechanism. It is the exercise of a fundamental right: private parties have always had the power to bind themselves by contract, and a trust is fundamentally a contractual relationship. The Supreme Court recognized this in United States v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co., 309 U.S. 506 (1940). The Pure Trust honors this tradition by creating a trust that exists by contract alone.
Keywords: common law trust, natural law trust, non-statutory trust, constitutional trust, private contract trust, pure trust organization, unincorporated business trust.
Generate an attorney-review-ready pure trust in under 15 minutes. Backed by ChainLock™ blockchain anchoring for immutable proof of execution.
Get Started — $2,497Bitcoin OP_RETURN + Polygon Smart Contract
Every document generated by Forged in Trust is anchored to two blockchains simultaneously. A SHA-256 hash of the executed document is embedded in a Bitcoin OP_RETURN — immutable, permanent, secured by the highest hashrate on Earth. The same hash is recorded on Polygon via TrustAnchor.sol for instant verification and smart contract integration. Dual-chain anchoring eliminates single-point failure. Bitcoin proves existence. Polygon enables programmatic access. Year 1 free with every trust. Year 2+ $97/yr Standard / $197/yr Premium.
Your trust instrument is one of the most important legal documents you will ever create. Here is why anchoring it to the blockchain changes everything.
A SHA-256 cryptographic hash of your executed trust is permanently embedded in the Bitcoin blockchain — the most secure computing network in human history. Once recorded, the hash cannot be altered, deleted, or disputed. If anyone later claims the trust was modified or never existed, the blockchain proves which document existed on which date. No court can override mathematics.
Trust documents get lost in moves. They get destroyed in fires, floods, and earthquakes. Disgruntled parties destroy them. Law firms close and lose their files. The blockchain does not lose documents. It does not burn. It does not flood. Your trust exists forever — independent of any physical copy.
In a trust dispute, the burden of proof falls on the party asserting the document's validity. The blockchain flips this dynamic. The timestamp is mathematical — not testimonial. No witness can forget. No memory can fade. The blockchain is the witness that cannot be cross-examined. Present the Blockstream Explorer link in court. The judge can verify it independently.
When action is needed, your trustee and beneficiaries do not need to find a law firm, open a safe deposit box, or petition a court just to confirm the trust exists. They visit the verification page. They see the blockchain proof. Immediate. Irrefutable. No waiting. No gatekeepers.
The Bitcoin blockchain is maintained by tens of thousands of nodes across every continent. No government can shut it down. No corporation can delete it. No law firm can lose it. The proof of your trust exists independently of Forged in Trust, independently of any institution, independently of any jurisdiction. Even if this company ceases to exist, the Bitcoin blockchain will still contain your document's fingerprint.
Bitcoin has been running continuously since January 3, 2009 — through financial crises, wars, pandemics, and regime changes. It has never been hacked. It has never been shut down. It has never lost a single transaction. Your trust, anchored to Bitcoin, will outlast the law firm that drafted it, the bank that stored it, and the government that notarized it. Your great-grandchildren will be able to verify it.
$497/year maintains the chain.
One price. Every tier. That covers re-verification, chain monitoring, amendment re-anchoring, and the infrastructure that keeps your trust's proof permanently alive on both Bitcoin and Polygon. Lawyers charge $8,000+ for a single blockchain anchoring. We maintain both chains for $497/year — and the proof never expires.
Your trust is just the beginning. Forged-on-Chain provides the integrated tools to maintain, audit, and protect your trust for decades.
Tax preparation and accounting built for trust structures. GAAP-compliant reporting, accrual tracking, and IRS-ready returns.
Starting at $499 →Multi-layer forensic audits — SEC EDGAR cross-referencing, CUSIP validation, chain-of-title verification, and trust integrity sweeps.
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From $1,200/yr →Triple-Forged blockchain anchoring. Bitcoin timestamps, Polygon smart contracts, and quantum-resistant salt — your trust, cryptographically eternal.
View Plans →Forged-on-Chain™, Forged-in-Trust™, Triple-Forged™, AccruStrike™, ForensicPierce™, IronGrid™, Trustee Keys™, and Quantum Salt™ are trademarks of Forged on Chain LLC.
Forged on Chain LLC is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Our products are self-help document preparation tools. Consult a licensed attorney for legal advice specific to your situation.