Certification of Trust Requirements in New Jersey

At a glance

Requirements one by one

The certification has seven required fact groups

Under N.J.S.A. 3B:31-81(a), the trustee may give a person other than a beneficiary a certification instead of the trust instrument. The certification must state that the trust exists and when its instrument was executed, identify the settlor, and identify and give the address of the currently acting trustee.

It also must state the trustee's powers, the trust's revocability and any revocation- power holder, the authority of cotrustees to sign and whether all or fewer must act, and the name in which trust-property title may be taken. Subsection (c) adds the required statement that no revocation, modification, or amendment makes the certification's representations incorrect.

The section does not list a taxpayer identification number, governing law, situs, or principal place of administration among the required facts.

Every identified current trustee signs

Section 3B:31-81(b) says the certification “shall be signed by all persons identified as currently acting as trustee.” The cotrustee-action statement may explain that fewer than all trustees can exercise a transaction power, but it does not reduce the signer count for the certification itself.

The certification section states no separate oath, acknowledgment, witness, or notarization form. A transaction or recording office may raise a separate formality question, but it is not a requirement stated by § 3B:31-81.

Dispositive terms stay private, subject to targeted excerpts

Section 3B:31-81(d) says the certification need not contain the trust's dispositive terms. Under subsection (e), however, the recipient may require excerpts from the original instrument and later amendments that designate the trustee and confer the power to act in the pending transaction.

That is a targeted excerpt right. It is not a general statutory right to every trust term.

Reliance turns on knowledge, and bad-faith demands carry damages

Under § 3B:31-81(f), a person relying without knowledge that the certification is incorrect is not liable for doing so and may assume the stated facts without inquiry. Possession of all or part of the trust instrument does not by itself create knowledge of its terms.

Subsection (g) makes a person liable for damages when a court determines that the person lacked good faith in demanding the trust instrument in addition to the certification or permitted excerpts. It does not state an attorney-fee award. Subsection (h) preserves the right to obtain the instrument in a judicial proceeding concerning the trust.

The certification section states no recording effect

Section 3B:31-81 names how title to trust property may be taken as a required fact, but it does not itself authorize or require recording the certification or give a recorded certification a notice, priority, conveyance, or other real-property effect. Separate transaction and recording law may still matter to a particular instrument.

What trips people up

• Cotrustee transaction authority and certification signatures answer different questions. Even if the trust lets one or a majority of trustees conduct a transaction, every person identified as a current trustee must sign the certification.
• Notarization is not stated in the certification statute. Section 3B:31-81(b) requires signatures but does not prescribe an acknowledgment or notarial form.
• The damages rule addresses an extra demand, not refusal to accept. Subsection (g) applies when a court finds a demand for the trust instrument lacked good faith; it does not state damages or attorney fees merely because a recipient rejects a certification.

Common questions

May the recipient request later amendments?

Only in the targeted way stated by § 3B:31-81(e): the recipient may require excerpts from the original instrument and later amendments that designate the trustee and confer power for the pending transaction.

Does possessing the trust instrument prove that the recipient knew the certification was wrong?

No. Section 3B:31-81(f) says knowledge of the trust terms may not be inferred solely because the relying person holds all or part of the trust instrument.

Can someone obtain the complete trust instrument in a lawsuit?

Potentially. Section 3B:31-81(h) expressly preserves the right to obtain a copy in a judicial proceeding concerning the trust.

Statutes and sources

• N.J.S.A. 3B:31-81(a)–(c) — availability, required contents, all-current- trustee signatures, and the no-change statement. Official P.L.2015, c.276 PDF (accessed 2026-07-31).
• N.J.S.A. 3B:31-81(d)–(h) — omitted dispositive terms, targeted excerpts, knowledge-based reliance, bad-faith demand damages, and judicial access. Official P.L.2015, c.276 PDF (accessed 2026-07-31).