A trust is a vehicle for separating the beneficial use of property from its ownership. For instance, a bank account is held in trust by John Smith - making him the owner and imposing duties upon him - for the benefit of Annie, Brad and Cathy Johnson - juveniles who are allowed the benefit of the income from the account.
There are several kinds of estates, but the most common usage would be that property held in ownership by a decedent at the time of his death, and not divested from his ownership by virtue of the death.
