Wills & Estates

Certification of Trust

Prove a trust exists and who may act for it, without handing over the trust itself.

What you get

  • An editable Word document, drafted from your answers and the state's official text.
  • A proof of sources: every citation in the draft with the words it quotes, the official source, the date the text was saved and its fingerprint.
  • Notes for counsel listing each point marked [VERIFY], each blank and each choice left for the client.

What the intake asks

Plain questions, in the order an attorney would take the facts. Anything left blank stays a marked blank in the draft; nothing is invented to fill it.

The trust

  • The trust
  • Can the trust be revoked
  • Who may revoke, and any event that changed it
  • Who holds the power to revoke

The trustees

  • Current trustees
  • If there are several trustees, who must sign
  • How a successor came to serve

Powers and purpose

  • Trustee powers being relied on
  • Who will receive the certification and why
  • Trust taxpayer identification
  • How title to trust assets is taken

Signing

  • Form of the certification
  • Other instructions or open decisions

Where it is offered

Every state Lawsmith has official sources for:

Official sources on file

The drafter works from the texts Lawsmith has saved for this document in the state you choose, plus federal law where it applies. Each is read from the official publisher and dated.

StateSources for this document
California37
Connecticut27
Delaware22
District of Columbia25
Florida28
Maryland25
Massachusetts22
New Jersey27
New York27
Ohio22
Pennsylvania26
Texas24
Virginia27

Among them, for New Jersey:

  • N.J.S.A. 46:14-2.1 Acknowledgement and proof.
  • N.J.S.A. 46:26A-3 Prerequisites for recording.
  • N.J.S.A. 46:14-6.1 Officers authorized to take acknowledgments
  • N.J.S.A. 3B:11-3 Trustees construed to be joint tenants
  • N.J.S.A. 3B:14-23 Powers.

How the draft is checked

Before it writes, the drafter must quote the official text behind each citation. Lawsmith compares every quotation with the text on file, character for character; a citation with no checked quotation reaches you marked [VERIFY]. The draft still needs your review before it is signed, filed or sent. How citations are checked

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