The New York Times has published a rather comprehensive, if brief, overview of trusts. For those of you who find all of the acronyms we use to describe various trusts, this may prove to be very helpful.
your lawblogger would add a little postscript to this article with regard to the issue of whether of not you are considering naming a bank as your trustee. First of all, this should not even be considered if your trust is not worth at least several million dollars. You should also consider that once you appoint a bank to serve as your trustee, this appointment will be more or less written in stone after you have passed away and the trust is established and funded. The problem is that we tend to select a bank based upon the quality of its trust department. The trust officer who has attracted you to the bank when your trust is drafted may well be long retired when the trust is funded. The quality of a trust department may decline as well so you will never be assured that your heirs will have the benefit of the counsel of the bank/trustee you select for them today. For a high net worth trust, best to spend time with your financial advisor and pick the trustee or trustees best suited for you in the long run.