The most distinct feature of a Trust is the clear separation of the legal ownership (title) of the asset from the beneficial ownership of the asset. While the Trustee is the holder of the legal title to a Trust, the rights to the benefits and gains from the trust assets lie with the Beneficiary. The Trustee has formal rights to dispose with the asset, but these rights are predetermined by the Settlor by means of the Trust Deed. The Settlor is clearly NOT the holder of the legal title to the Trust, however he can prescribe how the Trust assets shall be used and who shall receive the gains and benefits from the Trust property. To confuse things further, the Settlor may be (but not always is) a Beneficiary to the Trust, either alone or together with any number of other Beneficiaries.

The type of Trust required for the strongest asset protection is an "Irrevocable Discretionary Trust". Here the settlor (you) transfers assets irrevocably to the Trustee, who has full discretion to provide benefits to the various beneficiaries, or not, in his sole discretion. Here the beneficiary has no actual legal "rights" to a distribution or to the "trust property" unless the trustee actually makes a distribution. So the settlor may, for example, appear in a United States Court and swear under oath that he does not own or control these assets (held in trust). Off course there are usually safe guards built into the trust arrangement that allow for various levels of indirect settlor control.