Free Certificate of Trust Form

A Certificate of Trust is a legal document that serves to prove the existence of a trust. 

The Certificate also provides a trustee with the legal authority to supply important information about the trust to third parties.

In short, a Certificate of Trust is an abbreviated form of a trust agreement. 

It outlines pertinent information about the trust and hides any sensitive details that you may not want to disclose to the public.

Certificate of Trust forms typically contain the following elements:

• The name of the trust and the date when it was created

• The trust tax ID number

• The name and address of the settlor (grantor)

• The name and address of the trustee

• The trustee’s powers (full or limited)

• The type of trust (revocable or irrevocable) 

• A property description (if real estate is involved)

Create your own certificate by using our customizable Certificate of Trust template to avoid inaccuracies and misunderstandings.

1. Examine the Original Trust Document

To create a certificate of trust, you must thoroughly study the original trust document. 

It is in this document that you will find some of the basic information that you need to include in the certificate. 

An example of this is the trust tax number identification or the name and date when the trust was created. Contact the attorney that drafted the trust agreement and request a copy.

2. Make Sure the Original Version of the Trust Hasn’t Changed

Certificates of Trust, like any legal form, must be accurate to be valid in court. 

When contacting the trust creator, make sure to ask if there have been any alterations to the original. 

Confirm that the information contained in the trust document is still up-to-date.

3. Establish the Scope of Powers That the Trustee Will Have

Trustees can be assigned full or limited powers. Granting trustees full powers means that they will be able to take the necessary legal decisions to administer and control all trust property. If trustees are not to have unlimited legal powers, the restrictions will need to be listed in the certificate of trust. 

For example, trustee powers can be limited to improving the profitability of the trust, but they may not be allowed to divide it or sell it.

4. Determine Whether You Will Have Single or Multiple Trustees

A trustee should be a competent individual with the necessary abilities and legal knowledge to administer the trust efficiently and ethically. 

You should consider expertise and experience when choosing trustees. Depending on the complexity of the trust, you may want to designate multiple trustees. 

For example, you may want to assign different trustees to handle investments and accounting, as they are fundamentally different specialization areas.

5. Create the document

To complete your Certificate of Trust, you must include the following sections:

• Header: This mentions the state and county where the document is being created.

• Affiant statement: This is a third-party declaration confirming that the information in the certificate is exact.

• Trust: This section should provide all details related to the trust.

• Names and addresses: The full names and addresses of the settlor, trustee, and successor trustee must be added.

• Trustee authority: This section contains the signature of the trustee or trustees, in case there are multiple ones.

• Trustee powers: Whether they’re full or limited.

• Real estate: This part of the document clarifies if the trust consists of any real property and includes its legal description.

• Affiant signature and date.

6. Notarize the Trust Certificate

Like many legal documents, Certificates of Trust need to be notarized. 

The notary public must be present when the affiant signs the certificate to acknowledge the process as complete. A specific area at the end of the trust document should be provided for this purpose.

States often have their own laws to regulate Certificates of Trust. 

Make sure that your document complies with the law specific to the state where the grantor lives.

Trust Agreements and Certificates of Trust are closely related, yet different.

As all legal documents, the information contained in Trust Certificates needs to not only be accurate and truthful, but must also have a certain format to be accepted in court. 

The structure of a Certificate of Trust is simple. However, we highly recommend that you use a sample to create yours. The best way to ensure that your Trust Certificate is legally valid is by first examining our Certificate of Trust sample.