12 July 2016 External T.I. 2014-0560361E5 - Cdn beneficiary of US living trust -- summary under Subsection 104(1)

A U.S. revocable living trust is a trust that is usually controlled by and established for the benefit of those who created the trust (“grantors”) during their lifetime. … Where the grantor can change the terms of, or completely revoke the trust during their lifetime, they effectively retain control of the trust assets.

…[The] trust is an excluded trust…where the arrangement is such that the trust/trustee can reasonably be considered to act as an agent for all the beneficiaries unless the trust is described in any of paragraphs (a) to (e.1) of the definition of trust in subsection 108(1). This determination is a legal question of fact, and depending on the specifics of each case a particular grantor trust may in fact be such an excluded trust.