To fill out a certification of trust form, work directly from your original trust instrument and copy its details exactly: the trust’s full legal name, execution date, settlor, current and successor trustees, trustee powers, revocability, tax identification number, and how the trust takes title. Add the statement that the trust has not been revoked or modified in any way that makes the certification inaccurate, then sign in front of a notary. Leave beneficiaries and distribution terms off the form entirely.
What You Need in Hand Before You Start
Pull out the original trust document. Every field on the certification has to match the instrument word for word, so working from memory invites rejection. Small differences matter: “The Smith Family Trust” is not “Smith Family Trust.”
Gather the following from the trust itself:
- The trust’s full legal name as written in the instrument.
- The date the trust was executed.
- The settlor or grantor’s full name. Some forms use “trustmaker,” “settlor,” or “trustor” for the same person.
- The full name and mailing address of every current trustee and co-trustee.
- The names of any successor trustees designated to take over on death, resignation, or incapacity.
- The specific trustee powers the trust grants: buying and selling real estate, managing accounts, borrowing, making distributions, and so on.
- Whether the trust is revocable or irrevocable, and who holds the power to revoke or amend it.
- If there are co-trustees, whether all must sign or fewer than all can act.
- The taxpayer identification number the trust uses (grantor’s SSN or the trust’s EIN).
- How the trust takes title to property.
Before you download a blank form, ask the bank, brokerage, or title company whether they require their own version. Many do, and they will reject a generic form. Fidelity, for example, publishes its own certification of trust with fields that have to match the account application.1Fidelity. Certification of Trust Help If no institution-specific form is required, your estate planning attorney can supply a template.
Filling In the Form Section by Section
Trust Name and Date
Write the trust’s full legal name exactly as it appears in the instrument. Enter the original execution date. If the trust has been amended, keep the original creation date here; amendments are handled through the non-modification statement further down.
Settlor or Grantor
Enter the full name of the person who created the trust. Fidelity’s form notes that grantors are “sometimes referred to as Trustmakers, Settlors, or Trustors,” so match whichever label your form uses.1Fidelity. Certification of Trust Help
Trustees and Co-Trustees
List the full legal name of every current trustee along with a mailing address. If the form has co-trustee fields, put each co-trustee in a separate slot. When space runs short, copy the section and attach the additional pages.1Fidelity. Certification of Trust Help If the form asks about co-trustee signing authority, state whether all co-trustees must sign or whether any one of them can act alone. Look at the trust instrument for the exact language; don’t guess.
Trustee Powers
This section describes what the trust document authorizes the trustee to do. Common powers include buying, selling, and managing real estate; opening and maintaining financial accounts; borrowing against trust assets; and making distributions. Copy the powers from the instrument rather than paraphrasing. Paraphrase can accidentally narrow or expand your actual authority, and the institution will compare your description against what you’re trying to do.
Revocability and Amendment Power
Mark whether the trust is revocable or irrevocable. If revocable, list every person who holds the power to revoke it. On the Fidelity form this field cannot be left blank; if no one has that power, write “None.”1Fidelity. Certification of Trust Help The same rule applies to any field asking who can amend the trust: name the people or write “None.”
Tax Identification Number
Enter the taxpayer identification number the trust uses for IRS reporting.1Fidelity. Certification of Trust Help A revocable trust with a living grantor generally uses the grantor’s Social Security Number, because the IRS treats grantor and trust as the same taxpayer. An irrevocable trust, or a formerly revocable trust whose grantor has died, needs its own Employer Identification Number, which you can apply for through IRS Form SS-4 or online at irs.gov. Verify the trust’s current tax status before writing anything in this field.
How the Trust Takes Title
Copy the exact vesting language from the trust or from prior deeds. Title companies compare this word for word when trust property is transferred.
The Non-Modification Statement
Under the Uniform Trust Code framework adopted by most states, the certification must include a statement confirming that the trust has not been revoked, modified, or amended in any way that would make the information on the certification inaccurate. This is your sworn representation. If the trust has been amended, the rest of the certification must already reflect the trust as it stands after every amendment before you sign this line.
Signature and Notarization
Sign and date the form in front of a notary. Most institutions require notarization even when the state does not. California’s Probate Code, for instance, requires an “acknowledged declaration,” which is effectively a notarized signature. Plan to sign at a bank, shipping store, or notary’s office, and bring photo ID.
What to Leave Off
The point of a certification of trust is to share less than the full instrument. Do not include the names of beneficiaries, the terms governing distributions, or the value of trust assets. Under the Uniform Trust Code, the certification specifically does not need to contain “dispositive terms,” the legal phrase for who gets what. A bank needs to know you have authority to open an account; it does not need to know how the trust splits assets among your children.
If an institution’s form asks for beneficiary or distribution information, you are generally within your rights to decline and provide the certification as the code contemplates it.
If You’re Filling It Out as a Successor Trustee
When you’re completing the certification because the original trustee died or became incapacitated, filling out the form is only part of the job. You also have to prove the transition happened.
Gather the documentation that triggered your authority. For a deceased trustee, that’s usually a certified copy of the death certificate. For incapacity, it’s the physician’s declaration or court finding that the trust instrument names as the triggering event. You’ll also need a signed acceptance of trusteeship confirming you’ve taken the role.
On the form, list yourself as the currently acting trustee and expect to attach the supporting documents. Keep certified copies of everything so you can hand a fresh set to each institution without re-gathering originals.
When an Institution Pushes Back
A properly completed certification is supposed to be enough. In most states, a person who demands the full trust document instead of accepting a valid certification can be held liable for damages if a court finds the demand was not made in good faith. The Uniform Trust Code puts that risk on the institution, not on you.
The institution can, however, reasonably ask for specific excerpts from the trust that show your authority for the particular transaction. A lender asking to see the paragraph that authorizes borrowing is a fair request. A lender demanding all 50 pages is not.
If the certification is refused, put your request in writing and cite your state’s version of Uniform Trust Code Section 1013. Compliance departments generally know the rule even when branch staff do not.
Where the Certification Gets Used and How to Keep It Current
You’ll most often present a certification when opening bank or brokerage accounts in the trust’s name, transferring titled property into or out of the trust, refinancing or selling trust real estate, and buying investments or insurance for the trust.
The certification is not filed with a court. The main exception is real estate: many counties require the certification to be recorded alongside the deed with the county recorder when property moves into or out of the trust. Check the recorder’s format requirements before you sign, because a form that doesn’t meet local recording standards will bounce.
Make several copies for your own records before handing one over. You will likely need certifications at multiple institutions, and copies on hand cut delays.
A certification is only reliable while it accurately reflects the trust. Prepare a new one any time the trust is amended in a way that changes something on the form: adding or removing a trustee, modifying trustee powers, converting a revocable trust to irrevocable, or changing how the trust takes title. Handing over an outdated certification while knowing the information is wrong exposes you to personal liability, and beneficiaries can hold you responsible for losses that result. When an amendment touches anything on the form, sign a fresh certification before you use it again.