An trust is created when assets are transferred to a trustee. The trustee becomes the legal owner and is responsible for managing the assets and distributing them to the beneficiaries of the trust (which could include the person or corporation which transferred the assets to the trustees) in accordance with the terms of the trust deed.
The terms on which the trustees administer the trust assets are detailed in a trust deed and trust legislation to govern trusts has been enacted in many common law jurisdictions. What assets can be held by an offshore trust?