Columbia County Certificate of Trust Form (Wisconsin)

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

Certificate of Trust Form

Columbia County Certificate of Trust Form

Fill in the blank form formatted to comply with all recording and content requirements.
Included Columbia County compliant document last validated/updated 4/14/2025

Certificate of Trust Guide

Columbia County Certificate of Trust Guide

Line by line guide explaining every blank on the form.
Included Columbia County compliant document last validated/updated 6/13/2025

Completed Example of the Certificate of Trust Document

Columbia County Completed Example of the Certificate of Trust Document

Example of a properly completed form for reference.
Included Columbia County compliant document last validated/updated 6/26/2025

When using these Certificate of Trust forms, the subject real estate must be physically located in Columbia County. The executed documents should then be recorded in the following office:

Columbia County Clerk

400 DeWitt St / PO Box 133, Portage, Wisconsin 53901

Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm. Please note, the cut-off reception time for recording real estate documents will be 3:30 pm. Documents presented for recording after 3:30 pm will be recorded the next business day.

Phone: (608) 742-9677

Local jurisdictions located in Columbia County include:

  • Arlington
  • Cambria
  • Columbus
  • Doylestown
  • Fall River
  • Friesland
  • Lodi
  • Pardeeville
  • Portage
  • Poynette
  • Randolph
  • Rio
  • Wisconsin Dells
  • Wyocena

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

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

What are supplemental forms?

Often when a deed is recorded, additional documents are required by Wisconsin or Columbia 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 Columbia 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.

The certificate of trust is an unrecorded document executed by a trustee and presented to a party doing business with the trustee (such as a financial institution). The document is codified as part of the Wisconsin Trust Code at Wis. Stat. 701.1013.

In a trust arrangement, a settlor transfers assets another person who, as trustee, manages them for the benefit of the trust beneficiary. In lieu of presenting the entire trust instrument, which generally goes unrecorded in order to protect the settlor's estate plans, the certificate is an abstract containing only the information required of the trustee in order to conduct the business at hand. The document certifies that the trust exists and that the trustee has the authority to act in the pending transaction on behalf of the trust.

The certificate includes a statement that the trust exists and contains the name and date of the trust; the names of the settlor and all currently acting trustees; an inventory of the relevant powers of the trustee; and the name by which the trust vests title to property. The form also identifies anyone who holds a power to revoke the trust, and, when there are co-trustees, stipulates the authority of the trustees to authenticate trust documents. Additionally, the certificate requires a statement that the trust has not been modified, amended, or revoked so as to invalidate the facts presented.

In most cases, the certificate is not recorded. It may sometimes accompany a conveyance of real property out of the trust (a trustee's deed), verifying that the trustee has the authority to convey real property and confirming that the property is subject to the trust by providing the legal description of the property, as found in the trust agreement or conveyancing instrument into trust.

Statements made in the certificate may be relied on as fact; Wis. Stat. 701.1013 provides protection for persons relying in good faith on the information presented in the certificate. In addition to the certificate, the trustee may furnish excerpts from the trust instrument designating the trustee and establishing the trustee's power to act in the business at hand. Recipients of a certificate requesting that the trustee furnish the entire trust instrument, however, are open to liability.

The certificate may be signed by any trustee in the presence of a notary public. If the document is submitted for recording, it must conform to standards for recording established at Wis. Stat. 59.43(2m).

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

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

Our Promise

The documents you receive here will meet, or exceed, the Columbia 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 Columbia 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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