Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

A trust fails unless there is a beneficiary or a class of beneficiaries whose identity is ascertainable with reasonable certainty. (Prob. Code, sect. 15205, subd. (b)(1).)

This requirement does not apply to charitable trusts. (Prob. Code, sect. 15205, subd. (a).)

A trustee's discretion to decide which members of a class of beneficiaries will take and in what proportions does not violate the requirement of definite beneficiaries as long as the class is sufficiently identified and its membership is definite. (Prob. Code, sect. 15205, subd. (b)(2).)

The use of the term "Rick as beneficiary" would be sufficient, if Rick's identity can easily be ascertained from the terms of the trust instrument, and extrinsic evidence.

You do not even need any name at all, contrary to the implication of Mr. Roach's answer. "Class of beneficiaries whose identity is ascertainable with reasonable certainty" can mean any identifiable group of people. So "all my grandchildren" is fine. "All my issue and their heirs," works. "All my children who finish college" would do, as would "all people who swiped their ATM card at pump #12 at the Arco station at Fifth and Main on October 15th, 2010," since that information could be subpoenaed by the probate court to identify those people. The only limitation is that it must be possible to know with absolute certainty who is in the group and who is not within the lifetime of all people alive today, plus 21 years. So you could say "all my grandchildren." Because if you die today you know that all your children are born by your death or within 9 months, and all their children will be born within their lives plus 9 months max. To "all my great-grandchildren" however, is invalid because there is no way to be certain upon your death that all your great grandchildren will be born within 21 years of your living issue at that moment.