Palo Alto County Certificate of Trust Form (Iowa)
All Palo Alto County specific forms and documents listed below are included in your immediate download package:
Certificate of Trust Form
Fill in the blank form formatted to comply with all recording and content requirements.
Included Palo Alto County compliant document last validated/updated 6/5/2025
Certificate of Trust Guide
Line by line guide explaining every blank on the form.
Included Palo Alto County compliant document last validated/updated 5/27/2025
Completed Example of the Certificate of Trust Document
Example of a properly completed form for reference.
Included Palo Alto County compliant document last validated/updated 6/3/2025
The following Iowa and Palo Alto County supplemental forms are included as a courtesy with your order:
When using these Certificate of Trust forms, the subject real estate must be physically located in Palo Alto County. The executed documents should then be recorded in the following office:
Palo Alto County Recorder
Courthouse - 1010 Broadway / PO Box 248, Emmetsburg, Iowa 50536
Hours: 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday-Friday
Phone: (712) 852-3701
Local jurisdictions located in Palo Alto County include:
- Ayrshire
- Curlew
- Cylinder
- Emmetsburg
- Graettinger
- Mallard
- Ruthven
- West Bend
How long does it take to get my forms?
Forms are available immediately after submitting payment.
How do I get my forms, are they emailed?
Immediately after you submit payment, the Palo Alto County forms you order will be available for download directly from your account. You can then download the forms to your computer. If you do not already have an account, one will be created for you as part of the order process, and your login details will be provided to you. If you encounter any issues accessing your forms, please reach out to our support team for assistance. Forms are NOT emailed to you.
What does "validated/updated" mean?
This indicates the most recent date when at least one of the following occurred:
- Updated: The document was updated or changed to remain compliant.
- Validated: The document was examined by an attorney or staff, or it was successfully recorded in Palo Alto County using our eRecording service.
Are these forms guaranteed to be recordable in Palo Alto County?
Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed all formatting requirements set forth by Palo Alto County including margin requirements, content requirements, font and font size requirements.
Can the Certificate of Trust forms be re-used?
Yes. You can re-use the forms for your personal use. For example, if you have more than one property in Palo Alto County that you need to transfer you would only need to order our forms once for all of your properties in Palo Alto County.
What are supplemental forms?
Often when a deed is recorded, additional documents are required by Iowa or Palo Alto County. These could be tax related, informational, or even as simple as a coversheet. Supplemental forms are provided for free with your order where available.
What type of files are the forms?
All of our Palo Alto County Certificate of Trust forms are PDFs. You will need to have or get Adobe Reader to use our forms. Adobe Reader is free software that most computers already have installed.
Do I need any special software to use these forms?
You will need to have Adobe Reader installed on your computer to use our forms. Adobe Reader is free software that most computers already have installed.
Do I have to enter all of my property information online?
No. The blank forms are downloaded to your computer and you fill them out there, at your convenience.
Can I save the completed form, email it to someone?
Yes, you can save your deed form at any point with your information in it. The forms can also be emailed, blank or complete, as attachments.
Are there any recurring fees involved?
No. Nothing to cancel, no memberships, no recurring fees.
Under Iowa Code 633A.4604, the certification of trust is an official document confirming the terms of a trust as they relate to a specific transaction. Trustees wishing to enter into a transaction in the trust's name may be asked to present a certification of trust to prove the trust's existence and the trustee's authority to enter into the transaction.
A certificate of trust presents the name and date of the trust under which the trustee is acting, as well as the identities of the trust's settlor and trustees. The document provides the name by which the trust will hold title to trust assets, and includes the trust's taxpayer identification number (TIN).
If there is more than one trustee, the certificate identifies who has authority to sign documents relating to the trust and how many co-trustees are required to sign. The document also enumerates the trustee's powers relative to the transaction at hand, and includes the name of any person able to revoke the trust, if applicable. Like other documents affecting real property, the certificate should include the legal description of the subject property.
Finally, the certificate requires statements that the trust has not been revoked, modified, or amended in any manner to cause the representations contained within to be incorrect; that the document is being signed by all acting trustees; and that the certificate is sworn and subscribed to under penalty of perjury before a notary public (Iowa Code 633A.4604(2)).
The statements contained within the certificate may be relied on as if they were fact, but recipients of a certification of trust may request copies of the sections of the trust instrument designating the trustee and conferring the trustee's powers pursuant to Iowa Code 633A.4604(4). A recipient requesting the entire trust document may be liable for damages if a court finds they acted unreasonably in their request (Iowa Code 633A.4604(6)).
Consult a lawyer with questions regarding trust law and certifications of trust, as each situation is unique.
(Iowa Certificate of Trust Package includes form, guidelines, and completed example)
Our Promise
The documents you receive here will meet, or exceed, the Palo Alto County recording requirements for formatting. If there's an issue caused by our formatting, we'll make it right and refund your payment.
Save Time and Money
Get your Palo Alto County Certificate of Trust form done right the first time with Deeds.com Uniform Conveyancing Blanks. At Deeds.com, we understand that your time and money are valuable resources, and we don't want you to face a penalty fee or rejection imposed by a county recorder for submitting nonstandard documents. We constantly review and update our forms to meet rapidly changing state and county recording requirements for roughly 3,500 counties and local jurisdictions.
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September 4th, 2023
The process for obtaining document itself was easy, and the included guide and example are great! rnI do have an issue with the format itself, though. The form has pre-defined text boxes, which cannot be altered without partially rebuilding the entire document. For the 'property description' field on the Mineral Deed form, the text box is not large enough for the rather lengthy legal description entered on my original plat.rnFortunately, I have a copy of Adobe Pro, so I have been able to re-build the doc to accommodate this short-coming.
Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on our legal form. We're pleased to hear that you found the process for obtaining the document and the included guide beneficial.
We understand and appreciate your concern regarding the formatting and size limitations of certain fields, especially the 'property description' field. Our forms are designed to adhere to specific formatting requirements that are often mandated for legal compliance. Making direct alterations to the document can result in them becoming non-conforming, which is why we advise customers to use an exhibit page when their legal description is extensive or does not fit.