Certification of Trust - Delaware

CERTIFICATION OF TRUST

State of Delaware

Pursuant to 12 Del. C. § 3591

RECORDING REQUESTED BY AND WHEN RECORDED RETURN TO:

Name: [________________________________]

Address: [________________________________]

City, State, ZIP: [________________________________]

County: [________________________________]

SECTION 1: TRUST IDENTIFICATION

The undersigned, being a currently acting Trustee of the trust identified herein, does hereby furnish this Certification of Trust in the form of an acknowledged writing as authorized by 12 Del. C. § 3591, and certifies and declares the following:

1.1 Trust Name:

The name of the trust is: [________________________________]

(hereinafter referred to as the "Trust").

1.2 Date of Execution:

Pursuant to 12 Del. C. § 3591(a)(1), the Trust instrument was originally executed on [__/__/____].

1.3 Trust Amendments and Restatements:

☐ The Trust has not been amended or restated since its original execution.

☐ The Trust has been amended and/or restated. The dates are as follows:

1.4 Trust Classification:

☐ Inter Vivos (Living) Trust

☐ Testamentary Trust

☐ Delaware Dynasty Trust (perpetual trust under 25 Del. C. § 503)

☐ Delaware Qualified Dispositions in Trust (Asset Protection Trust under 12 Del. C. § 3570)

☐ Directed Trust under 12 Del. C. § 3313

☐ Other: [________________________________]

1.5 Governing Law:

The Trust is governed by the laws of the State of: [________________________________]

SECTION 2: SETTLOR/TRUSTOR IDENTIFICATION

2.1 Identity of Settlor(s)/Trustor(s):

Pursuant to 12 Del. C. § 3591(a)(2), the Trust was created by the following Trustor(s):

2.2 Settlor/Trustor Status:

☐ The Trustor(s) is/are currently living.

☐ The Trustor(s) is/are deceased. Date of death: [__/__/____]

SECTION 3: TRUSTEE IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHORITY

3.1 Currently Acting Trustee(s):

Pursuant to 12 Del. C. § 3591(a)(2), the following are the currently acting Trustee(s) of the Trust:

3.2 Authority of Co-Trustees to Sign:

Pursuant to 12 Del. C. § 3591(a)(5), the authority of co-trustees to sign is as follows:

☐ All currently acting co-trustees must sign to exercise the powers of the Trustee.

☐ A majority of the currently acting co-trustees may sign to exercise the powers of the Trustee.

☐ Any one co-trustee may independently sign to exercise the powers of the Trustee.

☐ Other arrangement as specified in the trust instrument: [________________________________]

3.3 Directed Trust Provisions:

☐ The Trust is NOT a directed trust.

☐ The Trust IS a directed trust under 12 Del. C. § 3313. The following advisors or protectors have authority:

3.4 Trustee Powers:

The Trust instrument and applicable Delaware law, including 12 Del. C. § 3325 (Specific powers of trustee), grant the Trustee(s) the following powers, including but not limited to:

☐ Power to acquire, sell, exchange, lease, and convey real and personal property

☐ Power to borrow funds and encumber or pledge trust assets

☐ Power to open and maintain deposit accounts, investment accounts, and custody accounts

☐ Power to collect, hold, manage, and invest trust assets

☐ Power to execute and deliver deeds, mortgages, bills of sale, and other instruments

☐ Power to retain, employ, and compensate agents, advisors, attorneys, and accountants

☐ Power to make distributions to beneficiaries pursuant to the trust terms

☐ Power to participate in business entity transactions

☐ Power to deal with tax matters on behalf of the Trust

☐ Power to exercise decanting authority under 12 Del. C. § 3528

☐ Other powers: [________________________________]

SECTION 4: TRUST PROPERTY AND TITLE PROVISIONS

4.1 Manner of Taking Title:

Pursuant to 12 Del. C. § 3591(a)(7), title to trust property shall be taken in the following manner:

[________________________________], as Trustee of the [________________________________], dated [__/__/____].

4.2 Taxpayer Identification Number:

Pursuant to 12 Del. C. § 3591(a)(6):

☐ The Trust uses the Trustor's Social Security Number (grantor trust): XXX-XX-[________________________________]

☐ The Trust has its own Employer Identification Number (EIN): [________________________________]

SECTION 5: REVOCABILITY STATUS

5.1 Revocability or Irrevocability:

Pursuant to 12 Del. C. § 3591(a)(4):

☐ The Trust is REVOCABLE. The following person(s) hold(s) the power to revoke the Trust:

Name: [________________________________]

Relationship to Trust: [________________________________]

☐ The Trust is IRREVOCABLE.

☐ The Trust became irrevocable upon the occurrence of the following event:

[________________________________] on [__/__/____].

SECTION 6: SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE INFORMATION

6.1 Designated Successor Trustee(s):

The Trust instrument names the following successor Trustee(s):

6.2 Mechanism for Successor Trustee Appointment:

☐ As specified in the trust instrument

☐ By the Trustor/Settlor during lifetime

☐ By a trust protector under 12 Del. C. § 3313

☐ By court appointment under 12 Del. C. § 3501

☐ Other: [________________________________]

SECTION 7: DELAWARE STATUTORY DISCLOSURES AND REPRESENTATIONS

7.1 Non-Disclosure of Dispositive Terms: Pursuant to 12 Del. C. § 3591(d), this Certification of Trust does not contain the dispositive terms of the Trust. A recipient of this Certification may require the Trustee to provide copies of those excerpts from the original trust instrument and later amendments which designate the Trustee and confer upon the Trustee the power to act in the pending transaction, as provided in 12 Del. C. § 3591(e).

7.2 Accuracy Representation: Pursuant to 12 Del. C. § 3591(c), the Trust has not been revoked, modified, or amended in any manner that would cause the representations contained in this Certification of Trust to be incorrect.

7.3 Reliance Protection: Pursuant to 12 Del. C. § 3591(f), a person who acts in reliance upon this Certification of Trust without 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.

7.4 Enforcement Against Trust Property: Pursuant to 12 Del. C. § 3591(g), a person who in good faith enters into a transaction in reliance upon this Certification of Trust may enforce the transaction against the trust property as if the representations contained in this Certification were correct.

7.5 Liability for Demanding Trust Instrument: Pursuant to 12 Del. C. § 3591(h), a person making a demand for the trust instrument in addition to a certification of trust or excerpts is liable for damages, including attorneys' fees, if the court determines that the person did not act in good faith in requesting the trust instrument.

7.6 Purpose of Certification: This Certification is furnished in connection with the following transaction or purpose:

[________________________________]

SECTION 8: EXECUTION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The undersigned Trustee hereby certifies that all representations contained in this Certification of Trust are true and correct as of the date set forth below.

TRUSTEE SIGNATURE(S):

Trustee 1:

Signature: ___________________________________________

Printed Name: [________________________________]

Title (if corporate trustee): [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

Trustee 2 (if applicable):

Signature: ___________________________________________

Printed Name: [________________________________]

Title (if corporate trustee): [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

SECTION 9: ACKNOWLEDGMENT (NOTARIZATION)

STATE OF DELAWARE

COUNTY OF [________________________________]

Before me, the undersigned authority, on this ______ day of __________________, 20______, personally appeared:

[________________________________]

known to me (or proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence, being: [________________________________]) to be the person(s) whose name(s) is/are subscribed to the within instrument and acknowledged to me that he/she/they executed the same in his/her/their authorized capacity(ies) as Trustee(s), and that by his/her/their signature(s) on the instrument, the person(s), or the entity upon behalf of which the person(s) acted, executed the instrument.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and official seal.

Signature of Notary Public: ___________________________________________

Printed Name of Notary: [________________________________]

My Commission Expires: [__/__/____]

[NOTARIAL SEAL]

SECTION 10: DELAWARE-SPECIFIC NOTES AND PRACTICE CONSIDERATIONS

10.1 Delaware Trust Act: Delaware's comprehensive trust statute is codified at 12 Del. C. § 3501 et seq. Delaware is widely recognized as a premier trust jurisdiction due to its favorable tax treatment, flexible trust provisions, and well-developed body of trust law through the Court of Chancery.

10.2 Default Rule on Irrevocability: Unlike states that adopted the Uniform Trust Code default of revocability, Delaware practice treats a trust as IRREVOCABLE unless the trust instrument expressly reserves a power to revoke or amend. This default is grounded in Delaware common law and drafting practice rather than a single codified default-revocability statute (compare 12 Del. C. § 3591(a)(4), which requires the certification to state the trust's revocability status but does not itself set the default rule). This is a critical distinction when certifying the revocability status of a trust governed by Delaware law.

10.3 Dynasty Trusts: Delaware permits perpetual trusts for personal property by abolishing the Rule Against Perpetuities (25 Del. C. § 503). For real property held in trust, the common-law Rule Against Perpetuities applies unless the interest vests within 110 years. Practitioners should note this distinction when certifying trusts holding Delaware real property.

10.4 Directed Trusts: Delaware's directed trust statute (12 Del. C. § 3313) allows the division of trustee duties among multiple fiduciaries (trust advisors, protectors, investment advisors, distribution advisors), and the related excluded co-trustee statute (12 Del. C. § 3313A) allows allocation of duties among co-trustees. A certification of trust for a directed trust should clearly identify which powers belong to the trustee versus the advisor.

10.5 Decanting Authority: Under 12 Del. C. § 3528, a trustee with discretionary distribution authority may distribute trust property to a second trust. If the trust has been decanted, the certification should reference both the original trust and the second trust, as applicable.

10.6 No State Income Tax on Qualifying Trusts: Delaware does not impose state income tax on trust income from intangible assets when no beneficiary is a Delaware resident. This is often relevant to third parties reviewing trust certifications.

10.7 Court of Chancery Jurisdiction: The Delaware Court of Chancery has original and exclusive equity jurisdiction over trust administration matters, including disputes regarding the validity of a certification of trust or trustee authority (10 Del. C. § 341).

10.8 Acknowledged Writing Requirement: Delaware specifically requires the certification to be an "acknowledged writing" under 12 Del. C. § 3591(b), which is more formal than the requirements in some other states. Ensure proper notarization.

This Certification of Trust is prepared pursuant to 12 Del. C. § 3591 and is intended to provide sufficient information to establish the existence of the Trust and the authority of the Trustee(s) without disclosing the dispositive terms of the Trust instrument. This Certification constitutes an acknowledged writing as required by Delaware law.

DOCUMENT CONTROL:

Template Version: 1.0

Jurisdiction: State of Delaware

Governing Statute: 12 Del. C. § 3591

Last Updated: 2026-07-05