What Is a Certificate of Trust?

A trust is a legal document that states how you would like to have your property managed after your death. A certificate of trust is a shortened version of a trust that does not include any details of property, assets, or who the beneficiary is. Here is some other important information that you should know about a certificate of trust.

1. Both a trust and certificate of trust have three major people involved, the trust grantor, the trustee, and the beneficiary. There can sometime be more people involved if there is more than one beneficiary listed.

2. When you wish to transfer a bank account from your name into the trust, the bank usually has to see a copy of the trust. However, a certificate of trust can be used to show proof to a bank or other financial institution, to show that you have set up a valid trust, without revealing the details of the trust.

3. In some states a certificate of trust is also referred to as a certificate or abstract of trust.

4. When you are creating a trust, a certificate of trust will usually be created at the same time.

5. The trust grantor can also give a certificate of trust to someone involved in the trust in order to share and establish the conditions and terms of the trust.

6. The length of a certificate of trust is usually only one to two pages long.

7. Contained in the certificate of trust is, the name of the trust, the execution date, the names of the people that are involved in the trust, whether it is revocable or irrevocable, the trust identification number, how the assets and property are to be distributed to the beneficiary, and what powers, if any the trustee has on behalf of the trust.

8. The certificate of trust must be signed by both the trust grantor and the trustee or trustees.

9. The document is not legal and does not take effect until it has been signed, dated, and notarized.

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