Certification of Trust - Arizona

CERTIFICATION OF TRUST

State of Arizona

Pursuant to A.R.S. § 14-11013

THIS CERTIFICATION OF TRUST is made and executed as of [__/__/____] by the undersigned Trustee of the trust identified herein, pursuant to A.R.S. § 14-11013 of the Arizona Trust Code.

SECTION 1 — PURPOSE AND STATUTORY AUTHORITY

This Certification of Trust is furnished pursuant to A.R.S. § 14-11013 in lieu of providing a copy of the trust instrument to persons other than beneficiaries. Under this statute, instead of furnishing a copy of the trust instrument, the trustee may furnish a certification of trust containing the information specified herein. The recipient may assume without inquiry the existence of the facts contained in this certification pursuant to A.R.S. § 14-11013(F).

SECTION 2 — TRUST IDENTIFICATION

2.1 Trust Existence and Date of Execution

Pursuant to A.R.S. § 14-11013(A)(1), the undersigned hereby certifies that a trust exists under the following identification:

2.2 Amendments and Restatements

The trust instrument has been amended and/or restated as follows:

☐ The trust has NOT been amended or restated since its original execution date.

☐ The trust has been amended on the following date(s):

• First Amendment: [__/__/____]
• Second Amendment: [__/__/____]
• Third Amendment: [__/__/____]
• Additional Amendment(s): [________________________________]

☐ The trust was restated in its entirety on: [__/__/____]

SECTION 3 — IDENTITY OF THE SETTLOR

Pursuant to A.R.S. § 14-11013(A)(2), the Settlor(s) of the trust is/are:

Status of Settlor:

☐ The Settlor is living as of the date of this Certification.
☐ The Settlor is deceased. Date of death: [__/__/____]
☐ The Settlor has been adjudicated incapacitated.

Community Property Considerations:

☐ The trust holds community property of the Settlor and spouse.
☐ The trust holds separate property of the Settlor only.
☐ The trust holds both community and separate property.

SECTION 4 — IDENTITY AND ADDRESS OF CURRENTLY ACTING TRUSTEE(S)

Pursuant to A.R.S. § 14-11013(A)(3), the currently acting Trustee(s) of the trust is/are:

Type of Trustee (check all that apply):

☐ Individual Trustee(s)
☐ Corporate Trustee — State of Organization: [________________________________]
☐ Successor Trustee(s) serving due to the incapacity, death, resignation, or removal of the original Trustee

SECTION 5 — POWERS OF THE TRUSTEE

Pursuant to A.R.S. § 14-11013(A)(4), the Trustee has the following powers relevant to the current transaction, including but not limited to:

☐ Power to acquire, hold, manage, and dispose of trust property, both real and personal (A.R.S. § 14-10816)
☐ Power to open, maintain, and close bank accounts, brokerage accounts, and other financial accounts in the name of the trust
☐ Power to borrow money and encumber trust property, including the power to execute deeds of trust, mortgages, and promissory notes
☐ Power to buy, sell, exchange, lease, and convey real property held in the trust
☐ Power to collect, receive, and receipt for income, principal, and other amounts due the trust
☐ Power to execute contracts, deeds, and other instruments on behalf of the trust
☐ Power to invest and reinvest trust assets pursuant to the Arizona Prudent Investor Rule (A.R.S. § 14-10901 et seq.)
☐ Power to compromise, settle, or abandon claims in favor of or against the trust
☐ Power to employ agents, attorneys, accountants, and other professionals
☐ Power to make distributions to or for the benefit of trust beneficiaries in accordance with the trust instrument
☐ Power to deal with tax matters and file returns on behalf of the trust
☐ Power to manage, operate, or participate in business entities
☐ Power to exercise all rights with respect to insurance policies
☐ Power to execute beneficiary deeds pursuant to A.R.S. § 33-405
☐ Power to deal with community property and separate property
☐ Other powers: [________________________________]

SECTION 6 — REVOCABILITY OR IRREVOCABILITY OF THE TRUST

Pursuant to A.R.S. § 14-11013(A)(5), the undersigned certifies:

☐ Revocable Trust — The trust is revocable. The person(s) holding the power to revoke the trust is/are:

☐ Irrevocable Trust — The trust is irrevocable and cannot be revoked by any person.

☐ Conditionally Irrevocable — The trust became irrevocable upon: [________________________________]

SECTION 7 — AUTHORITY OF CO-TRUSTEES

Pursuant to A.R.S. § 14-11013(A)(6), the undersigned certifies the following regarding the authority of co-trustees to sign or otherwise authenticate:

☐ Not Applicable — There is only one currently acting Trustee.

☐ All Co-Trustees Must Act Jointly — All currently acting co-trustees must sign or otherwise authenticate and exercise powers jointly.

☐ Majority of Co-Trustees May Act — A majority of the co-trustees may exercise the powers of the trustee.

☐ Any Single Co-Trustee May Act — Any one co-trustee may independently sign, authenticate, and exercise powers of the trustee.

☐ Other Arrangement — [________________________________]

SECTION 8 — MANNER OF TAKING TITLE TO TRUST PROPERTY

Pursuant to A.R.S. § 14-11013(A)(7), title to trust property may be taken in the following manner:

Title Format: [________________________________]

Trustee title formats to review with the receiving party:

• "[Trustee Name], Trustee of the [Trust Name], under Trust Agreement dated [Date]"
• "[Trustee Name], as Trustee, U/T/A dated [Date]"

SECTION 9 — SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE PROVISIONS

The trust instrument provides for the following succession of trusteeship:

9.1 First Successor Trustee:

9.2 Second Successor Trustee:

9.3 Mechanism for Appointing Additional Successors:

☐ The trust instrument grants the power to designate additional successor trustees to: [________________________________]
☐ The trust instrument does not provide for additional successor trustee designations beyond those listed above.
☐ The trust instrument provides for court appointment if no designated successor is available.

SECTION 10 — TRUST PROPERTY PROVISIONS

10.1 This Certification of Trust does not disclose the dispositive terms of the trust, as permitted by A.R.S. § 14-11013(D). The dispositive terms include provisions directing or authorizing distributions to beneficiaries and are not required to be disclosed.

10.2 The trust is authorized to hold the following categories of property (check all that apply):

☐ Real property located in the State of Arizona
☐ Real property located in other states: [________________________________]
☐ Community property (A.R.S. § 25-211)
☐ Separate property
☐ Bank and savings accounts
☐ Brokerage and investment accounts
☐ Life insurance policies
☐ Retirement account beneficiary designations
☐ Business interests (LLC, corporation, partnership)
☐ Motor vehicles and titled personal property
☐ Other: [________________________________]

SECTION 11 — ARIZONA REAL PROPERTY CONVEYANCE REVIEW

☐ The proposed deed or conveyance to or from the trustee has been reviewed for the beneficiary names and addresses and trust identification required by A.R.S. § 33-404(A)-(B), including any permitted reference to a recorded instrument.
☐ No Arizona real property conveyance is involved in this transaction.

If a recorded disclosure instrument is referenced, identify it:

• County: [________________________________]
• Recording Number/Docket: [________________________________]
• Date Recorded: [__/__/____]

SECTION 12 — REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

Pursuant to A.R.S. § 14-11013(C), the undersigned Trustee hereby represents and warrants as follows:

12.1 The trust identified in this Certification has not been revoked, modified, or amended in any manner that would cause the representations contained in this Certification of Trust to be incorrect.

12.2 This Certification of Trust is a true and accurate summary of the trust provisions described herein.

12.3 The undersigned is a duly appointed, currently acting, and qualified Trustee of the trust.

12.4 The trust is valid and in full force and effect under the laws of the State of Arizona.

12.5 No proceedings are pending in any Arizona superior court or other court of competent jurisdiction that would affect the validity of the trust or the authority of the Trustee to act on behalf of the trust.

SECTION 13 — RELIANCE BY THIRD PARTIES

Pursuant to A.R.S. § 14-11013(F), a person who acts in reliance upon this Certification of Trust without actual knowledge that the representations contained herein are incorrect is not liable to any person for so acting and may assume without inquiry the existence of the facts contained in this Certification. Under § 14-11013(G), a person who in good faith enters into a transaction in reliance upon this Certification may enforce the transaction against the trust property as if the representations were correct.

SECTION 14 — REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL EXCERPTS

Pursuant to A.R.S. § 14-11013(E), a recipient of this Certification of Trust may request that the Trustee furnish copies of those excerpts from the original trust instrument and later amendments that designate the trustee and confer upon the trustee the power to act in the pending transaction. The undersigned acknowledges this right and will comply with any such reasonable request.

SECTION 15 — LIABILITY FOR IMPROPER DEMAND FOR TRUST INSTRUMENT

Pursuant to A.R.S. § 14-11013(H), a person who demands the trust instrument or excerpts from the trust instrument in addition to this Certification of Trust is liable for damages, costs, expenses, and attorney fees if a court determines that the person did not act in good faith or did not otherwise comply with subsection (E) in demanding the trust instrument.

SECTION 16 — GOVERNING LAW

This Certification of Trust shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Arizona, including but not limited to the Arizona Trust Code (A.R.S. § 14-10101 et seq.).

SECTION 17 — EXECUTION AND SIGNATURES

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned Trustee has executed this Certification of Trust on the date first written above.

Trustee:

Signature: ___________________________________________

Printed Name: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

Additional Trustee (if applicable):

Signature: ___________________________________________

Printed Name: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

NOTARIZATION

State of Arizona

County of [________________________________]

On this [____] day of [________________________________], [________], before me, the undersigned Notary Public, personally appeared:

[________________________________]

personally known to me or proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person whose name is subscribed to the foregoing Certification of Trust, and acknowledged to me that he/she executed the same in his/her capacity as Trustee and that by his/her signature the person executed this instrument.

WITNESS my hand and official seal.

Signature of Notary Public: ___________________________________________

Printed Name of Notary: [________________________________]

My Commission Expires: [__/__/____]

Notary Seal/Stamp:

[AFFIX NOTARY SEAL HERE]

ARIZONA STATE-SPECIFIC NOTES

1. Arizona Trust Code: Arizona adopted the Arizona Trust Code (based on the Uniform Trust Code) effective January 1, 2009 (Laws 2008, Ch. 247), codified at A.R.S. § 14-10101 et seq. The certification of trust provision is at A.R.S. § 14-11013.

2. Trustee deed disclosures (A.R.S. § 33-404): Certain deeds or conveyances to or from a trustee must identify the trust and disclose the beneficiaries' names and addresses, either in the conveyance or by proper reference to a recorded instrument containing those disclosures. An omission can make the conveyance voidable by the other party under § 33-404(E). Review the deed separately from this certification.

3. Community Property State: Arizona is a community property state (A.R.S. § 25-211). Community property transferred into a trust generally retains its community character. Both spouses should consent to the transfer of community property into a trust.

4. Beneficiary Deeds: Arizona's Beneficiary Deed statute (A.R.S. § 33-405) allows real property to be transferred on death without probate. Trustees should consider whether a beneficiary deed may be appropriate in conjunction with trust planning.

5. Presumption of Revocability: A.R.S. § 14-10602(A) generally permits the settlor to revoke or amend a trust unless its terms expressly make it irrevocable. Laws 2008, Ch. 247, § 18(A)(4) applies Trust Code presumptions to pre-2009 instruments unless their terms clearly indicate a contrary intent. Check the actual instrument before selecting the status above.

6. Single Trustee Signature: Under A.R.S. § 14-11013(B), any single trustee may sign the certification. All co-trustees need not execute the document.

7. No Express Notarization Requirement: A.R.S. § 14-11013 does not expressly require notarization. However, notarization is strongly recommended, particularly for real property transactions and when dealing with financial institutions.

8. County Recording: For real property matters, Arizona county recorders (particularly Maricopa and Pima counties) may have specific formatting, font size, and margin requirements for recorded instruments. Verify requirements before recording.

9. Co-Trustee Default Rule: Under A.R.S. § 14-10703, co-trustees who cannot reach unanimity may act by majority decision.

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• A.R.S. § 14-11013 — Certification of Trust
• A.R.S. § 33-404 — Disclosure of Beneficiary
• Arizona Certificate of Trust — Deeds.com
• Arizona Trust Code — FindLaw

This template is intended for use by licensed attorneys in the State of Arizona. It must be reviewed, customized, and approved by qualified legal counsel before execution. This document does not create an attorney-client relationship between any party and the template provider.