Alaska Certificate of Trust

Include this form with real property transactions involving an Alaska trust.

Under AS 13.36.079, a trustee may provide a certification of trust to confirm his/her authority to act on behalf of an established trust agreement. The certification stands in for the full document, thereby preserving the confidentiality of the beneficiaries, as well as other facts unrelated to the immediate transaction.

A lawful certification of trust must include the following information:
The trust exists and the date the trust instrument was executed; the settlor's identity; the currently acting trustee's identity and address; the trustee's powers; whether it is revocable or irrevocable, and identify anyone holding a power to revoke the trust; requirements about co-trustees, if any; the trust's taxpayer identification number, if any; and the manner of taking title to the property of the trust (13.36.079 (a)(1-8)). It may also contain other details as necessary.

The certification of trust includes a statement that the trust has not been revoked, modified, or amended in a manner that would cause the representations contained in the certification of trust to be incorrect (c). The recipient of a certification of trust may ask the trustee to furnish copies of the excerpts from the original trust instrument, including amendments that designate the trustee and confer the power to act in the transaction which requires the certification of trust (e).

This offers protection to those who, in good faith, enter into a transaction based on reasonable reliance on a certification of trust. If the trustee misrepresents the facts, the other party may enforce the transaction against the trust property as if the representations contained in the certification were correct (g).

Each situation is unique, so contact an attorney with specific questions and for complex circumstances.