Certification of Trust - Virginia

CERTIFICATION OF TRUST

Commonwealth of Virginia

Pursuant to Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-804

THIS CERTIFICATION OF TRUST is made and executed as of [__/__/____] by the undersigned Trustee of the trust identified herein, pursuant to Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-804 of the Virginia Uniform Trust Code.

SECTION 1 — PURPOSE AND STATUTORY AUTHORITY

This Certification of Trust is furnished pursuant to Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-804 in lieu of providing a copy of the trust instrument to persons other than beneficiaries. Under this statute, a trustee may furnish a certification of trust containing the information specified herein, and the recipient may assume without inquiry the existence of the facts contained herein pursuant to Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-804(F).

SECTION 2 — TRUST IDENTIFICATION

2.1 Trust Existence and Date of Execution

Pursuant to Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-804(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 Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-804(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 Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-804(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) now serving due to death, incapacity, resignation, or removal of predecessor Trustee

SECTION 5 — POWERS OF THE TRUSTEE

Pursuant to Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-804(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, including real and personal property
☐ Power to open, maintain, and close bank accounts, brokerage accounts, and other financial accounts
☐ Power to borrow money and encumber trust property, including the power to execute deeds of trust and promissory notes
☐ Power to buy, sell, exchange, lease, and convey real property
☐ Power to collect, receive, and receipt for income, principal, and other amounts due the trust
☐ Power to execute contracts, agreements, and other instruments on behalf of the trust
☐ Power to invest and reinvest trust assets pursuant to the Virginia Uniform Prudent Investor Act (Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-780 et seq.)
☐ Power to compromise, settle, or abandon claims
☐ 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 exercise rights with respect to insurance policies
☐ Power to operate or participate in businesses
☐ Other powers: [________________________________]

SECTION 6 — REVOCABILITY OR IRREVOCABILITY OF THE TRUST

Pursuant to Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-804(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 Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-804(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 documents and act 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 Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-804(A)(7), the trust's taxpayer identification number is:

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

SECTION 9 — TITLE TO TRUST PROPERTY

Pursuant to Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-804(A)(8), the manner of taking title to trust property may be taken in the following name(s):

Title Format: [________________________________]

Common Virginia titling formats:

• "[Trustee Name], Trustee of the [Trust Name], dated [Date]"
• "The [Trust Name], U/A dated [Date]"
• "[Trustee Name], as Trustee under Agreement 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 court if no successor is designated.

SECTION 11 — TRUST PROPERTY PROVISIONS

11.1 This Certification of Trust does not disclose the dispositive terms of the trust, as permitted by Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-804(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 Virginia
☐ 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 — REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

Pursuant to Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-804(B), 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 Commonwealth of Virginia.

12.5 No proceedings are currently pending in any Virginia circuit 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 Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-804(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. Knowledge of the terms of the trust may not be inferred solely from the fact that a copy of all or part of the trust instrument is held by the person relying upon this Certification. Pursuant to Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-804(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 — LIABILITY FOR BAD-FAITH DEMAND FOR TRUST INSTRUMENT

Pursuant to Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-804(H), a person who makes a demand for the trust instrument in addition to this Certification of Trust (or the excerpts described in Section 15) is liable for damages, including reasonable attorney fees, if a court determines that the person did not act in good faith in demanding the trust instrument.

SECTION 15 — ADDITIONAL EXCERPTS

Pursuant to Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-804(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 that designate the trustee and confer upon the trustee the power to act in the pending transaction. The undersigned acknowledges this right.

SECTION 16 — GOVERNING LAW

This Certification of Trust shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, including but not limited to the Virginia Uniform Trust Code (Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-700 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

Commonwealth of Virginia

City/County of [________________________________]

On this [____] day of [________________________________], [________], before me, the undersigned Notary Public in and for the Commonwealth of Virginia, personally appeared:

[________________________________]

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 as Trustee for the purposes therein contained.

WITNESS my hand and official seal.

Signature of Notary Public: ___________________________________________

Printed Name of Notary: [________________________________]

My Commission Expires: [__/__/____]

Registration Number: [________________________________]

Notary Seal/Stamp:

[AFFIX NOTARY SEAL HERE]

VIRGINIA STATE-SPECIFIC NOTES

1. Uniform Trust Code Adoption: Virginia adopted the Uniform Trust Code through Acts 2005, c. 935, effective July 1, 2006, now codified at Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-700 et seq. The certification of trust provision is at § 64.2-804.

2. TIN Requirement: Virginia specifically requires the trust's taxpayer identification number in the certification under § 64.2-804(A)(7). This is a Virginia-specific addition to the Uniform Trust Code.

3. Single Trustee Signature: Unlike some states, Virginia permits ANY single trustee to sign the certification under § 64.2-804(B). All co-trustees need not execute.

4. Presumption of Revocability: Under Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-751(A), unless the terms of a trust expressly provide that it is irrevocable, the settlor may revoke or amend the trust. This subsection does not apply to a trust created under an instrument executed before July 1, 2006. The capacity required to create, amend, revoke, or add property to a revocable trust is the same as that required to make a will. Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-750.

5. Liability for Bad-Faith Demand: Under § 64.2-804(H), a person who demands the trust instrument in addition to a certification of trust or excerpts is liable for damages if a court determines that the person did not act in good faith in making the demand.

6. Transaction Documents: Section 64.2-804 authorizes use of a certification in place of furnishing the trust instrument to a nonbeneficiary, but it does not itself impose a recording requirement. Counsel should determine whether a deed, certification, excerpt, or other document is required for the particular transaction.

7. Agent Authority: Under Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-751(E), a settlor's powers with respect to revocation, amendment, or distribution of trust property may be exercised by an agent under a power of attorney that expressly authorizes such action, acting in accordance with § 64.2-1612, except to the extent expressly prohibited by the terms of the trust. Under § 64.2-751(F), a conservator (or, if none has been appointed, a guardian) of the settlor may exercise these powers only to the extent expressly authorized by the terms of the trust or if authorized by the supervising court for good cause shown.

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-804 — Certification of Trust
• Virginia Uniform Trust Code — Chapter 7
• Virginia Certificate of Trust — Deeds.com

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