Download Utah Certificate of Trust Forms

The certification of trust in Utah is codified at Utah Code 75-7-1013 as part of the Utah Uniform Trust Code. Trustees execute this document, which contains certified statements relating to a trust and the trustee's authority to act on the trust's behalf. The document may be recorded (as with acquisitions or transfers of real property) or presented to anyone doing business with a trustee in lieu of the entire trust instrument, which generally remains unrecorded to maintain the settlor's privacy.

The form lists the trust's name and date, the name of each settlor, the name and address of each acting trustee, the powers of the trustee to act in transaction for which the certificate is given, and whether or not the trust is revocable (and who, if anyone, has a power to revoke the trust). The trustee may provide excerpts from the trust instrument in addition to the certificate that designate the trustee and confer the relevant powers onto the trustee. For trusts with multiple trustees, the certificate states how many of the total number is required to join together in order to exercise the trustee's powers and who, specifically, has signing authority. Finally, the document lists the name by which the trust is to hold title to trust assets, and certifies that the trust has not been revoked or amended so as to cause the statements within to be incorrect.

Because the certificate is often given to support transactions involving real property (sometimes as an attachment to a trustee's deed), the legal description of the subject property and the parcel's tax serial number should also appear on the document. The certificate should be signed and acknowledged by a trustee in the presence of a notary public before being recorded or presented.

Recipients of a certificate of trust "may assume without inquiry the existence of the facts contained" within ( 75-7-1013(6)), and are further protected by the provisions at Utah Code 75-7-1012 in dealing with trustees.

Consult a lawyer with questions regarding trusts and preparing certifications of trust in Utah, as each situation is unique.

(Utah COT Package includes form, guidelines, and completed example)