Can a trust be the sponsor of a plan

[Guest PaulL]

My firm has just taken over a plan. This plan was a one-life corporate plan, filing Form 5500-EZ. The owner-employee tranferred his ownership in the corp to a trust, with his attorney as trustee. This trust does not have any employees, and there have been no contributions to the plan. The trust, as owner of the corp, has since dissolved the corp. The (now) former owner of the corp is also the trustee of the plan.

Is the trust allowed to sponsor the plan? If so, can the plan continue to file a 5500-EZ?

Thanks in advance.

[WDIK]

The following definitions are from ERISA Section 3:

(16)(B) The term "plan sponsor'' means (i) the employer in the case of an employee benefit plan established or maintained by a single employer, (ii) the employee organization in the case of a plan established or maintained by an employee organization, or (iii) in the case of a plan established or maintained by two or more employers or jointly by one or more employers and one or more employee organizations, the association, committee, joint board of trustees, or other similar group of representatives of the parties who establish or maintain the plan.

(4) The term "employee organization'' means any labor union or any organization of any kind, or any agency or employee representation committee, association, group, or plan, in which employees participate and which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning an employee benefit plan, or other matters incidental to employment relationships; or any employees' beneficiary association organized for the purpose in whole or in part, of establishing such a plan.

(5) The term "employer'' means any person acting directly as an employer, or indirectly in the interest of an employer, in relation to an employee benefit plan; and includes a group or association of employers acting for an employer in such capacity.