Short answer. Yes. Article 1441 recognizes two kinds of trust. Express trusts are created by the intention of the trustor or the parties. Implied trusts, by contrast, come into being by operation of law, so a trust can exist even though no one ever deliberately set one up, when the law itself raises one from the circumstances.

What the law says

Trusts are either express or implied. Express trusts are created by the intention of the trustor or of the parties. Implied trusts come into being by operation of law.

Civil Code, Article 1441 — Express and Implied Trusts. Read the full provision →

Two sources of a trust

A trust is an arrangement in which one person holds property for the benefit of another. The Civil Code recognises that such an arrangement can arise in two different ways. Article 1441 states that trusts are either express or implied. Express trusts are created by the intention of the trustor or of the parties. Implied trusts come into being by operation of law. The difference lies in the source. One kind flows from what people deliberately decide; the other is fastened on a situation by law itself, whether or not anyone intended a trust at all.

Express trusts: created by intention

An express trust is the deliberate kind. It comes from the manifested intention of the trustor, or of the parties, to place property in the hands of a trustee for a beneficiary. Someone sets it up on purpose, spelling out that the property is to be held and administered for another's benefit. Because it rests on intention, an express trust is what most people picture when they hear the word trust: a chosen, arranged relationship, established because the person who owned the property meant to create it.

Implied trusts: raised by law

The second kind needs no such intention. An implied trust comes into being by operation of law, arising from the circumstances rather than from anyone's declared purpose. The law may treat a person who holds title as a trustee for another when fairness demands it, for example where one person pays for property that ends up titled in another's name, or where someone acquires property through means the law will not let him keep for himself. No document, and no deliberate act of creation, is required; the trust is imposed by the law reacting to the facts.

Why it matters that a trust can be implied

The practical significance is large. Because implied trusts arise by operation of law, a person may hold rights as a beneficiary even though nobody ever signed a trust agreement or spoke the word trust. Someone who paid for property titled in another's name, or who was deprived of property by a wrongful acquisition, may be able to show that the law raised a trust in his favour. Recognising both kinds means the protection of trust law is not limited to arrangements people thought to create on purpose.

Cases citing this provision

These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.

Note. Statute text quoted on this page is reproduced from the official enactment and is linked to the full provision. The explanation around it is general legal information from Vivas & Nobles Law Office, not legal advice. Whether it applies to your situation depends on facts only a lawyer reviewing them can assess.