Power of appointment is power given to someone allowing them to make decisions on who will receive someone else's property, such as in a trust. When trusts are set up and a trustee is named, their power to decide who receives the property is decided for them based on the wishes of the creator of the trust. However, the trustee can be given power of appointment to decide who benefits from the trust. When this occurs, the creator of the trust usually has ideas on who the beneficiary should be, but allows the trustee to make the final decision. A trustee with power of appointment might have to decide between the local high school library and the local county museum and they might be instructed to base their decision on the financial needs.