Guides / When you're asked
Your bank asked for a certification of trust. Now what?
It usually arrives with a deadline: a closing, a renewal, a claim, a new account. Here is what to do, in order, to avoid the common rejections.
1. Ask which form they want
Many institutions will not accept a general certification. They have their own, written for their products and policies. Ask for it by name, ask for the current version, and ask how they want it delivered. Our research found no two institutional forms alike across the 272 we collected.
2. Find the trust's exact details
You need the exact name of the trust, the date it was signed, the grantors, the current trustees and the successor trustees. Take them from the trust itself, not from memory or an old account title. A missing comma or the wrong date is enough for a rejection.
3. Check who has to sign
The currently acting trustees sign, not the person who created the trust unless that person is still a trustee. If a trustee has died or resigned, the institution will usually want the death certificate or resignation, and proof that the successor accepted.
4. Fill in every field
Institutions reject forms for blank fields, especially on the notary page. Pay attention to the trustee powers the form asks about. A lender may need to see that the trustee can borrow and pledge property, and a generic certificate that leaves that out can be sent back.
5. Notarize on the right page
Many forms include their own notary blocks by state. California notaries use the California acknowledgment. Ask whether the institution accepts remote online notarization before you book one.
6. If they ask for the whole trust
In California, a trustee may give a certification instead of the trust. The institution can ask for the pages that show who the trustees are and what they can do, but it does not need the provisions that say who inherits what. California law makes a person who demands the whole trust in bad faith, after receiving a proper certification, liable for resulting damages and attorney's fees (Cal. Prob. Code § 18100.5). Many other states have similar rules.
7. Deliver it and confirm
Send it the way they asked, keep proof of delivery, and confirm it was accepted. Ask what happens next, because some institutions need a call or a second form to finish the job.
General information, not legal advice.