The XYZ trust contains the following dispositive provisions: 'to the full extent allowed by applicable law, the interest of any beneficiary in the income and principal of this trust shall be free from the control or interference of any creditor of the beneficiary or of any spouse of a married beneficiary. Such interest shall not be subject to attachment or susceptible to anticipation or alienation.' Based solely on these provisions, this trust would most accurately be described as

• A. Totally discretionary trust
• B. Revocable trust
• C. Spendthrift trust
• D. Massive trust

Answer: (C)

Spendthrift protection is the concept tested here. The provisions say that a beneficiary’s right to income and principal is free from the control of any creditor and of the beneficiary’s spouse, and that the interest cannot be attached, anticipated, or alienated. That explicit protection from creditors and from premature claims on the beneficiary’s future payments is the hallmark of a spendthrift trust. The other options don’t fit this creditor-protection feature: a totally discretionary trust centers on the trustee’s discretion to pay, a revocable trust is typically controllable by the grantor and offers less creditor protection, and a nonstandard term like “massive trust” isn’t a recognized type. So the description aligns with a spendthrift trust.