settlement

A disposition of land or other property, made by deed, will, or very rarely by statute (as in the Duke of Marlborough Annuity Act 1706), under which trusts are created by the *settlor designating the beneficiaries and the terms on which they are to take the property. Settlements are of many different kinds; for example, *marriage settlements, *strict settlements, *voluntary settlements, and, particularly, settlements under the Settled Land Act 1925 (see *settled land).