Guides / The basics
Certification, certificate, memorandum: what they all mean
A bank asks for a "memorandum of trust." A title company wants a "certification." Your lawyer gave you a "certificate." In most cases they mean the same thing.
One job, five names
A certification of trust is a short document, signed by the trustees, that tells an institution three things: the trust exists, who the trustees are, and what the trustees can do. It lets an institution deal with the trust without reading the whole thing.
| Name you may hear | Where you'll see it |
|---|---|
| Certification of trust | The term California law uses (Probate Code § 18100.5), and many other states |
| Certificate of trust | Common usage, and many lawyers' templates |
| Memorandum of trust | Some banks and title companies |
| Abstract or affidavit of trust | Some institutions and older forms |
| Trustee certification | The title on many institutions' own forms |
What California law says
- A trustee may give a certification instead of the trust itself.
- It can state the trust's existence and date, the settlors, the current trustees, their powers, whether the trust is revocable, how co-trustees sign, the tax identification number, and how title should be taken.
- It is signed by all currently acting trustees and acknowledged before a notary.
- An institution may ask for excerpts showing who the trustees are and their authority, but the law does not require you to disclose who inherits.
- An institution that relies on a certification in good faith is protected. One that demands the whole trust in bad faith after a proper certification can be liable for damages and attorney's fees.
Source: Cal. Prob. Code § 18100.5. Many states that adopted the Uniform Trust Code have a similar rule in section 1013.
Why your bank still gives you its own form
Institutions write their own forms to fit their own products, policies and risk rules. A lender may need specific statements about borrowing powers; a brokerage may add its own representations and indemnities. That is why the certificate your lawyer gave you at signing may not be accepted, and why each institution's form looks different. In our research, no two of the 272 institutional forms we collected were the same.
Who signs, and when it goes stale
The currently acting trustees sign. After a death or resignation, the successor trustee signs a new one. A certification describes the trust on the day it was signed, so institutions often ask for a fresh one at a sale, a refinance, a renewal or a trustee change.
General information, not legal advice.