Lake County Certificate of Trust Form (South Dakota)

All Lake County specific forms and documents listed below are included in your immediate download package:

Certificate of Trust Form

Lake County Certificate of Trust Form

Fill in the blank form formatted to comply with all recording and content requirements.
Included Lake County compliant document last validated/updated 4/23/2025

Certificate of Trust Guide

Lake County Certificate of Trust Guide

Line by line guide explaining every blank on the form.
Included Lake County compliant document last validated/updated 6/19/2025

Completed Example of the Certificate of Trust Document

Lake County Completed Example of the Certificate of Trust Document

Example of a properly completed form for reference.
Included Lake County compliant document last validated/updated 5/23/2025

The following South Dakota and Lake 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 Lake County. The executed documents should then be recorded in the following office:

Lake County Register of Deeds

200 East Center St, Madison, South Dakota 57042-0266

Hours: 8:00am-5:00pm M-F

Phone: (605) 256-7614

Local jurisdictions located in Lake County include:

  • Chester
  • Madison
  • Nunda
  • Ramona
  • Rutland
  • Wentworth
  • Winfred

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 Lake 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 Lake County using our eRecording service.
Are these forms guaranteed to be recordable in Lake County?

Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed all formatting requirements set forth by Lake 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 Lake County that you need to transfer you would only need to order our forms once for all of your properties in Lake County.

What are supplemental forms?

Often when a deed is recorded, additional documents are required by South Dakota or Lake 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 Lake 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.

Codified at SDCL 55-4-51.3 as part of the Uniform Trusts Act, the certificate of trust "in support of a real property transaction" is recorded in the South Dakota county where the subject property is located and "serves to document the existence of the trust...and other matters...as though the full trust instrument had been recorded" (SDCL 55-4-51.3, 55-4-51.1).

In a trust relationship, a settlor transfers property to another person (trustee), who holds it for the benefit of a third (beneficiary). In the course of their fiduciary duties, trustees may present a certificate to parties who are not beneficiaries of the trust in lieu of providing the entire trust instrument. The trust instrument, executed by the settlor, establishes the trust and sets forth directions for its administration, including designating the trustee, the trustee's powers, and identifying a trust beneficiary. The certificate of trust allows the settlor's estate plan to remain off-record by providing only the information about the trust relevant to the transaction at hand.

The document names the trust, its settlor, and each trustee empowered to act for the trust. Aside from certifying the existence of the trust and confirming it has not been revoked or modified in a way that would invalidate the statements contained within, the certificate also confirms the trustee's role and authority to act on behalf of the trust by identifying powers relevant to the transaction, how many trustees are required to carry out those powers (if there are multiple trustees) and any restrictions imposed by a court on those powers (if applicable).

When used in transactions involving real property, the certificate requires a legal description of the subject property. The document must be recorded in the South Dakota county where the subject property is located and in compliance with the recording requirements established at SDCL 43-28-23.

Pursuant to SDCL 55-4-51, the document should be signed by a trustee or settlor (grantor or trustor, as the case may be) in the presence of the notary public witnessing the sworn statements made in the certificate. Recipients may request parts of the trust instrument establishing the trustee and the relevant powers (55-4-52). Persons entering transactions may rely on the statements within the certificate without further inquiry (55-4-53).

Consult a lawyer with questions about South Dakota trusts and certificates of trust, as each situation is unique.

(South Dakota COT Package includes form, guidelines, and completed example)

Our Promise

The documents you receive here will meet, or exceed, the Lake 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 Lake 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.

4.8 out of 5 - ( 4562 Reviews )

MARY LACEY M.

June 30th, 2025

Great service! Recording was smooth and swiftly performed. Deeds.com is an excellent service.rn

Reply from Staff

We are delighted to have been of service. Thank you for the positive review!

Robert F.

June 30th, 2025

Breeze.... It feels silly to hire an attorney to do this for just one beneficiary. Thanks.

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Pauline C.

June 29th, 2025

Everything that was stated to be included in my order was complete. Very satisfied

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Thank you for your positive words! We’re thrilled to hear about your experience.

Steve W.

February 3rd, 2023

Simple and easy transaction

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Courtney V.

February 9th, 2021

I didn't have a chance to judge your services because I received a message saying that my requested title could not be searched. I will say, the website is easy to navigate. I'm not sure how many who use these services are laymen, but I would suggest adding a detailed explanation of each service. I had to Google the difference between each type of title search, but I might just be more uninformed than the average person, or I just didn't see it on your website

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MARK S.

February 28th, 2020

I filed my beneficiary deed today and it went off without a hitch. I really appreciated the guidelines and the example that came with the form
The guide lines cleared up some questions I had regarding tenancy by the entirety which I had been trying to figure out.

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eduardo r.

June 29th, 2022

Very easy to fill out forms thank you very much

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Thank you!

Donald S.

March 16th, 2021

Guidelines somewhat helpful. Forms fillable but not editable unless you buy an Adobe conversion service subscription. End product looks crude and amateurish. Fields can't be reduced or enlarged to accommodate unique data. Very disappointing.

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Jacqui G.

April 8th, 2020

Excellent system and serviced!

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January 7th, 2020

Well-designed site. Incredibly easy to find what I needed, very reasonable cost.

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Alan C.

December 10th, 2020

I thought the instructions could have been a little better. I didn't know how to do this if the spouses are married but living in separate residences. Also I didn't understand the "Prior Instrument Reference". That should be explained better. Very sketchy instructions.

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Tim M.

February 2nd, 2024

This is my first time using this amazing service. I wish I was told about this before I went all the way downtown, drove thru construction zones, paid for parking only to be told the computer system had crashed. rnI was referred to Deeds.com and I will not use the downtown system again.

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Gail M.

October 27th, 2022

Great website. Once submit payment documents are immediately emailed, easy to print and clear format. Will definitely use again!

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Lois S.

June 8th, 2020

This website made it easy to quickly research what was recorded/released on the title of my home.

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Judy A S.

October 15th, 2022

Great do it yourself forms (I used the Quitclaim deed). If you think you're going to need a lot of hand holding you might consider hiring an attorney. The guide and general information provided by deeds.com will help if you have some idea of what you are doing and you are willing to research a little. Your mileage may vary but for me, this was a very efficient and economical way to get my quitclaim deed done.

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