Get your trust deed drafted

The document that creates the trust. It names the settlor and the trustees, states the purpose and the beneficiaries, lists the property given to the trust and sets the rules for running it.

A private trust is for named persons, such as family members, and follows the Indian Trusts Act, 1882. A public charitable or religious trust is for the public and follows the law of its state; some states, such as Maharashtra and Gujarat, register it with the Charity Commissioner.

The law fixes no single number. A public charitable trust is normally set up with two or more trustees, and the settlor can be one of them.

A trust that holds land or a building must be created by a registered deed. For other trusts registration is not compulsory, but banks and the Income Tax Department ask for a registered deed, so most are registered with the Sub-Registrar.

Drafting the deed from the details you give here. Stamp duty and the registration fee depend on your state and are paid by you at the Sub-Registrar's office.

The trust applies for its PAN and opens a bank account. A charitable trust that wants its income exempt applies to the Income Tax Department for registration under section 12AB, and for section 80G approval so that its donors get a deduction.

Only in the way the deed itself allows, through a supplementary deed. Where the deed is silent, a change needs the court's approval, so the purpose and the amendment clause are worth settling now.

A trust needs a settlor and trustees and is run by its deed. A society needs at least seven members and is registered under the Societies Registration Act. A section 8 company is registered under the Companies Act and has the most yearly compliance of the three.