Georgia Certificate of Trust

Georgia Certification of Trust

Under O.C.G.A. 53-12-280, a certification of trust is the document a trustee uses to establish the existence of trust provisions. The trustee furnishes the certificate to a party other than a trust beneficiary (someone who has a beneficial interest in the trust) in lieu of providing a copy of the full trust instrument. The certificate's purpose is to verify the trust's existence and the trustee's authority to act under the trust.

In trusts affecting real property, the trustee is the person who holds legal title to the real property ( 53-12-2(16)). The trustee's powers are established in the trust instrument, which is executed by a settlor in the creation of a trust.

The certificate contains only the essential information about a trust, including the name and date of the trust and identities of the settlor and acting trustees, as well as any successor trustees. The identities of those having a beneficial interest in the trust remain undisclosed. In addition, the certificate states how trust property should be titled, and whether or not the settlor has the power to revoke the trust. The trustee's powers relevant to the management of trust property are enumerated, as well as restrictions, if any, concerning those powers.

Some third parties might request copies of relevant sections of the trust instrument ( 53-12-280(d)), even though Georgia statutes confirm that the details contained within the certificate are to be presumed correct. This presumption suggests that the recipient of a certification of trust is not liable for actions based on false information given within ( 53-12-280(e)).

Like all recorded documents concerning real property, the certificate should also contain a legal description of the real property subject to the trust, including the property's parcel identification number. The document is executed and acknowledged by all trustees in front of a notary before it is recorded in the county wherein the real property subject to the trust is located.

Consult a lawyer with any questions concerning trust certificates.

Deeds.com Georgia Certificate of Trust Forms Have Been Updated as Recently as Monday March 4, 2019

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A. S. said: First, I am glad that you gave a blank copy, an example copy, and a 'guide'. It made it much easier to do. Overall I was very happy with your products and organization... however, things got pretty confusing and I have a pretty 'serious' law background in Real Estate and Civil law. With that said, I spent about 10+ hours getting my work done, using the Deed of Trust and Promissory note from you and there were a few problems: First, it would be FANTASTIC if you actually aligned your guide to actually match the Deed or Promissory Note. What I mean is that if the Deed says 'section (E)' then your guide shouldn't be 'randomly' numbered as 1,2,3, for advice/instructions, but should EXACTLY match 'section (E)'. Some places you have to 'hunt' for what you are looking for, and if you did it based on my suggestion, you wouldn't need to 'hunt' and it would avoid confusion. 2nd: This one really 'hurt'... you had something called the 'Deed of Trust Master Form' yet you had basically no information on what it was or how to use it. The only information you had was a small section at the top of the 'Short Form Deed of Trust Guide'. Holy Cow, was that 'section' super confusing. I still don't know if I did it correctly, but your guide says only put a return address on it and leave the rest of the 16 or so page Deed of Trust beneath it blank... and then include your 'Deed of Trust' (I had to assume the short form deed that I had just created) as part of it. I had to assume that I had to print off the entire 17 page or so title page and blank deed. I also had to assume that the promissory note was supposed to be EXHIBIT A or B on the Short Form Deed. It would be great if someone would take a serious look at that short section in your 'Short Form Deed of Trust Guide' and realize that those of us using your products are seriously turning this into a county clerk to file and that most of us, probably already have a property that has an existing Deed... or at least can find one in the county records if necessary... and make sure that you make a distinction between the Deed for the property that already exists, versus the Deed of Trust and Promissory note that we are trying to file. Thanks.

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