Separate Trusts by Default
A custodial trust created for multiple people does not pool everything into a single pot. Arizona law presumes each beneficiary holds a separate, equal, undivided interest. This keeps accounting clean and prevents one beneficiary's needs from consuming another's share.
Beneficial interests in a custodial trust created for multiple beneficiaries are deemed to be separate custodial trusts of equal undivided interests for each beneficiary.
A.R.S. § 14-9106(A)The custodial trustee must account separately to each beneficiary for their portion of the trust. This means clear records showing what belongs to whom, how it was invested, and what was distributed.
Survivorship Is Not Automatic
For married couples, survivorship is presumed. If one spouse passes away, the other receives the deceased spouse's share. For everyone else, a survivorship right exists only if the instrument creating the trust specifically says so, or if community or marital property law requires it.
This matters for families naming siblings, parent-child pairs, or unmarried partners as co-beneficiaries. Without explicit survivorship language, a deceased beneficiary's share passes through their own estate rather than to the surviving co-beneficiary.
On the administrative side, if the same custodial trustee holds property for the same beneficiary under multiple transfers, those can be combined and managed as a single custodial trust. This simplifies things when assets arrive at different times from different sources.
