Certification of Trust - Massachusetts

CERTIFICATION OF TRUST

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 203E, § 1013

THIS CERTIFICATION OF TRUST is made and executed as of [__/__/____] by the undersigned Trustee of the trust identified herein, pursuant to Section 1013 of the Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code, M.G.L. c. 203E.

SECTION 1 — PURPOSE AND STATUTORY AUTHORITY

This Certification of Trust is furnished pursuant to M.G.L. c. 203E, § 1013 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 M.G.L. c. 203E, § 1013(f).

SECTION 2 — TRUST IDENTIFICATION

2.1 Trust Existence and Date of Execution

Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 203E, § 1013(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 M.G.L. c. 203E, § 1013(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.

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

Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 203E, § 1013(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/Commonwealth 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 M.G.L. c. 203E, § 1013(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 (M.G.L. c. 203E, § 816)
☐ 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 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 deeds, contracts, and other instruments on behalf of the trust
☐ Power to invest and reinvest trust assets pursuant to the Massachusetts Prudent Investor Rule (M.G.L. c. 203C)
☐ 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 deal with real property held in the trust, including property in both recorded and registered (Land Court) systems
☐ Other powers: [________________________________]

SECTION 6 — REVOCABILITY OR IRREVOCABILITY OF THE TRUST

Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 203E, § 1013(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 M.G.L. c. 203E, § 1013(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.

☐ Other Arrangement — [________________________________]

SECTION 8 — TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER

Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 203E, § 1013(a)(7), the trust's taxpayer identification number is:

Trust Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN/EIN): [________________________________]

SECTION 9 — TITLE TO TRUST PROPERTY

Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 203E, § 1013(a)(8), the manner of taking title to trust property is as follows. Title to trust property may be taken in the following name(s):

Title Format: [________________________________]

Common Massachusetts titling formats:

• "[Trustee Name], as Trustee of the [Trust Name], under Declaration of Trust dated [Date]"
• "[Trustee Name], Trustee, [Trust Name], u/d/t dated [Date]"
• "The [Trust Name], u/d/t dated [Date]"

SECTION 10 — SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE PROVISIONS

The trust instrument provides for the following succession of trusteeship:

10.1 First Successor Trustee:
| Item | Information |
|------|-------------|
| Name | [________________________________] |
| Address | [________________________________] |
| Relationship to Settlor | [________________________________] |

10.2 Second Successor Trustee:
| Item | Information |
|------|-------------|
| Name | [________________________________] |
| Address | [________________________________] |
| Relationship to Settlor | [________________________________] |

10.3 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 appointment by the Probate and Family Court if no designated successor is available.

SECTION 11 — TRUST PROPERTY PROVISIONS

11.1 This Certification of Trust does not disclose the dispositive terms of the trust, as permitted by M.G.L. c. 203E, § 1013(d). The dispositive terms include provisions directing or authorizing distributions to beneficiaries and are not required to be disclosed.

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

☐ Real property located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
☐ Real property located in other states: [________________________________]
☐ 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 12 — REAL PROPERTY RECORDING PROVISIONS (MASSACHUSETTS-SPECIFIC)

12.1 Type of Land System:

☐ Recorded Land — The real property is in the recorded land system and recorded at the [________________________________] County Registry of Deeds.
☐ Registered Land (Land Court) — The real property is registered land in the Land Court and held under Certificate of Title No. [________________________________].
☐ Not Applicable — This Certification does not relate to a real property transaction.

12.2 Prior Trust Recording:

☐ A Declaration of Trust or trust instrument has been recorded at the [________________________________] County Registry of Deeds at Book [________________________________], Page [________________________________].
☐ No prior trust recording has been made at the Registry of Deeds.

SECTION 13 — REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 203E, § 1013(c), the undersigned Trustee hereby represents and warrants as follows:

13.1 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.

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

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

13.4 The trust is valid and in full force and effect under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

13.5 No proceedings are pending in any Massachusetts Probate and Family 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 14 — RELIANCE BY THIRD PARTIES

Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 203E, § 1013(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. 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 15 — REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL EXCERPTS

Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 203E, § 1013(e), a recipient of this Certification of Trust may require the Trustee to furnish 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. The undersigned acknowledges this right and will comply with any such reasonable request.

SECTION 16 — DEMAND FOR FULL TRUST INSTRUMENT

Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 203E, § 1013(h), a person making a demand for the trust instrument, in addition to this Certification of Trust or excerpts, shall be liable for damages if the court determines that the person did not act in good faith in demanding the trust instrument.

SECTION 17 — GOVERNING LAW

This Certification of Trust shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, including but not limited to the Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code (M.G.L. c. 203E).

SECTION 18 — EXECUTION AND SIGNATURES

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned Trustee has executed this Certification of Trust under the pains and penalties of perjury on the date first written above.

Trustee:

Signature: ___________________________________________

Printed Name: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

Additional Trustee (if applicable):

Signature: ___________________________________________

Printed Name: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

NOTARIZATION

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

County of [________________________________]

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

[________________________________]

personally known to me or proved to me through satisfactory evidence of identification, which was:

☐ A current driver's license or government-issued identification
☐ A current passport
☐ Personal knowledge of the undersigned notary
☐ A credible witness known to me who vouched for the identity of the above-named person
☐ Other 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 for the purposes therein contained.

WITNESS my hand and official seal.

Signature of Notary Public: ___________________________________________

Printed Name of Notary: [________________________________]

My Commission Expires: [__/__/____]

Notary Seal/Stamp:

[AFFIX NOTARY SEAL HERE]

MASSACHUSETTS STATE-SPECIFIC NOTES

1. Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code: Massachusetts adopted the MUTC effective July 8, 2012 (St. 2012, c. 140, § 73), codified at M.G.L. c. 203E. The certification of trust provision is at § 1013.

2. TIN Requirement: Massachusetts specifically requires the trust's taxpayer identification number in the certification under § 1013(a)(7). This is a mandatory statutory element.

3. Recorded vs. Registered Land: Massachusetts has two land registration systems. "Recorded land" is filed at the county Registry of Deeds, while "registered land" is managed through the Land Court under M.G.L. c. 185. Requirements for trust-related filings differ significantly between these systems. Always determine which system applies before recording.

4. Declaration of Trust Recording (M.G.L. c. 184, § 35): For real property transactions, Massachusetts requires that a trust instrument or declaration of trust be recorded at the Registry of Deeds. The certification of trust alone may not be sufficient for real property recordings.

5. Pains and Penalties of Perjury: Massachusetts practice commonly uses the formulation "signed under the pains and penalties of perjury" (M.G.L. c. 268, § 1A) in lieu of or in addition to notarization. This carries the legal weight of a sworn statement.

6. Probate and Family Court Jurisdiction: The Massachusetts Probate and Family Court has jurisdiction over trust matters under M.G.L. c. 203E. If disputes arise regarding the certification or trustee authority, proceedings would typically be brought in this court.

7. Stronger Excerpt Rights: Under § 1013(e), the recipient may "require" (not merely "request") the trustee to furnish excerpts from the trust instrument showing trustee designation and powers. This gives Massachusetts recipients a stronger right than in some other UTC states.

8. Presumption of Revocability: Under M.G.L. c. 203E, § 602, unless the trust instrument expressly provides otherwise, a trust is revocable by the settlor.

9. Single Trustee Signature: Under § 1013(b), any single trustee may sign the certification. All co-trustees need not execute the document.

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• M.G.L. c. 203E, § 1013 — Certification of Trust
• Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code — Chapter 203E
• M.G.L. c. 184, § 35 — Recording of Trust Instruments
• Massachusetts General Laws c. 203E — Mass.gov

This template is intended for use by licensed attorneys in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 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.