Deed Guides
What Is a Florida Trust Certificate, and What Does the Title Company Need When a Trustee Signs?
Direct answer
A Florida trust certificate is a certification of trust under section 736.1017. The trustee may give that certification instead of a copy of the whole trust. It has to identify the trust, the settlor, and the currently acting trustee, state the trustee's powers, say whether a trust director must authorize the transaction, say whether the trust is revocable and who may revoke it, say whether every cotrustee must sign, and state how title is taken. It also has to say the trust has not been changed in a way that makes those statements wrong. Who inherits can be left out. Time to Close Title does not draft the trust or the certification. On a file, we read the certification and we may require the trust excerpts that name the trustee and give the power for this deed or sale. The deed the trustee signs still needs two witnesses and a notary acknowledgment. Recording the certification does not change Official Records. The deed does.
Key takeaways
- Section 736.1017 is the certification of trust. People also call it a trust certificate or a certificate of trust.
- It names who is acting and what that person may do. It can leave out who inherits.
- We may still require the excerpts that designate the trustee and confer the power for this transaction.
- Any trustee may sign the certification. The deed follows the rule on cotrustees.
- We do not draft the trust, decide homestead joinder, or calculate documentary stamp tax.
What is a Florida trust certificate?
It is a certification of trust under section 736.1017. The trustee may furnish it to someone other than a beneficiary instead of furnishing a copy of the trust instrument. A buyer, a lender, and a title company are in that group. The statute uses the name certification of trust. Trust certificate and certificate of trust are the names people search.
Signing the trust did not put the house in the trustee's name. A recorded deed did. Read how a Florida home is deeded into a trust. The certification tells us who may sign the next deed. It is not that deed.
| Document | What it does on this file | What it does not do |
|---|---|---|
| Certification of trust | States who the current trustee is and what that trustee may do | Change Official Records or replace the deed |
| Trust excerpts | Show the pages that name the trustee and give the power for this transaction | Have to include who inherits |
| Deed signed by the trustee | Conveys the real estate, once it is witnessed, acknowledged, and recorded | Get replaced by recording the certification alone |
What does section 736.1017 require the certification to say?
Any currently acting trustee may sign or otherwise authenticate the certification. That signature is not the two witnesses on the deed. The certification has to state that the trust has not been revoked, modified, or amended in a way that would make the representations wrong. Dispositive terms, meaning who receives property when the trust ends, can be left out.
A Florida land trust under section 689.071 is a different file. That recorded deed usually states the trustee's powers. A living-trust certification does not replace reading a land-trust deed.
| Item | What we look for |
|---|---|
| The trust | That it exists, and the date the trust instrument was executed |
| Settlor | Who created it |
| Current trustee | The name and address of the trustee acting now |
| Powers | The powers of the trustee, including the power for this sale or deed |
| Trust director | Whether anyone holds a power of direction, who that is, and whether this transaction was directed or authorized |
| Revocation | Whether the trust is revocable or irrevocable, and who holds a power to revoke |
| Cotrustees | Whether all must sign, or whether fewer may exercise the trustee's powers |
| Taking title | The manner of taking title to trust property |
| Still true | A statement that later changes have not made these representations wrong |
What does the title company need when the trustee signs?
Section 736.1017(5) lets the recipient require copies of the excerpts from the original trust and later amendments that designate the trustee and confer the power to act in the pending transaction. That is the request on our file. We do not need the pages that say who inherits. If the excerpts and the certification disagree, the trustee's attorney resolves it. We do not pick the version that makes the closing easier, and we do not give estate-planning advice.
A power of attorney is a different signer. If the recorded owner is the trustee of an identified trust, a power of attorney from the settlor does not replace the trustee. Read a power of attorney at a Florida closing. On a sale, the certification is often a Schedule B-I requirement on the title commitment. Send it with the contract, not the morning of signing.
If the last deed adds only the word trustee or as trustee, names no beneficiaries, does not state the nature and purpose of the trust, and does not identify the trust by title or date, section 689.07 can treat that grantee as holding fee simple, unless a contrary intention appears in the deed or a declaration of trust was already of record in that county. We do not decide a particular old deed in this article. The commitment states the vesting we will insure.
| What the record shows | What to bring |
|---|---|
| This trustee, and the trust named by title or date | The certification, and the excerpts that give this trustee the power to convey |
| The recorded trustee died or resigned | A certification naming the current trustee, the succession excerpts, and the death certificate or resignation those terms use |
| Every cotrustee must sign | Every currently acting cotrustee on the deed |
| A trust director must authorize the sale | That direction or authorization for this transaction |
| A mortgage is still of record | A payoff and, after funding, a recorded release. The certification does not release the lien. |
Does the certificate get recorded, and what does the deed still need?
Section 736.1017 does not make the certification the recorded conveyance. The deed is what the clerk records. On a sale or refinance we close, that deed is submitted after good funds. Read what gets recorded after a Florida closing. On a deed we only prepare, such as a conveyance out of the trust with no sale closing, the client records it with the clerk of the county where the land sits. Hernando Official Records are in Brooksville. Our Spring Hill office is not the clerk.
The trustee signs the deed before two subscribing witnesses, and the acknowledgment is what entitles the clerk to record it. Read two witnesses and a notary on a Florida deed. Homestead can still require a spouse to join a deed the trustee signs. We do not decide that from the certification. Read why a Florida spouse often must sign.
If succession depends on a death, bring the death certificate of the prior trustee. A Florida certificate used for this purpose does not include the cause of death under section 382.008. A resignation uses the writing the trust requires, not a death certificate. We do not decide whether that death certificate must be recorded on your file. A death certificate is not a new deed. Read removing a deceased spouse from a Florida deed for that difference on a spouse's name.
A deed from a trustee can still owe documentary stamp tax. We do not calculate it on this page. Read Florida documentary stamp tax on a deed and ask for the figure on your file. Confirm any wiring instructions by calling (352) 792-1214.
Match the recorded owner to the signer
Use the last recorded deed, not the street address. The trustee who will sign has to be the currently acting trustee of the trust that deed identifies, or the file has to show the succession. A deed that says only as trustee, with no trust name or date, is read under section 689.07.
Read the certification against section 736.1017
Check the trust date, the settlor, the current trustee and address, the powers, any trust director, whether the trust is revocable and who may revoke it, whether every cotrustee must sign, how title is taken, and the statement that those facts are still true. Who inherits can be left out.
Collect the excerpts and any succession papers
Ask for the pages that name this trustee and give the power for this deed or sale. If the recorded trustee died or resigned, add the death certificate or the resignation the trust uses. If a trust director must authorize the transaction, add that direction. We do not draft those papers.
Sign the deed with two witnesses and a notary
The deed is separate from the certification. The trustee signs before two witnesses, and the acknowledgment is what lets the clerk record it. Flag homestead joinder and any mortgage. We do not decide the joinder from the certificate, and the certificate does not release a lien.
Close the sale, or hand off a prepare-only deed
On a sale or refinance we close, the deed is submitted after good funds. On a deed we only prepare, the client records it with the clerk of the county where the land sits and pays any documentary stamp tax and the clerk's fee. Confirm wires by calling (352) 792-1214.
Can Time to Close Title handle a closing or a deed when a trustee signs?
Yes. On a sale we open the file from the contract, review the certification and the excerpts, and close. On a deed we only prepare, we prepare the deed for the trustee to sign. We do not write the trust or the certification. Call (352) 792-1214 or 888-228-0555, or contact the office. The office is at 3087 Anderson Snow Road, Spring Hill, FL 34609. Email info@TimetoCloseTitle.com. Hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Frequently asked questions
Is a Florida trust certificate the same as the trust?
No. The certification is a shorter statement under section 736.1017. The trust instrument is the private document. The certification can leave out who inherits.
Can a Florida trustee give a certification instead of the whole trust?
Yes, to someone other than a beneficiary. We may still require the excerpts that designate the trustee and confer the power for this transaction. We do not need the dispositive pages.
Does every cotrustee have to sign the certification?
Any trustee may sign the certification. The deed is separate. If the certification says all cotrustees must exercise the power, every currently acting cotrustee signs the deed.
What if the trustee named on the recorded deed has died?
Bring a certification that names the currently acting trustee, the trust excerpts on succession, and the death certificate of the prior trustee if the trust's terms use that death. A resignation uses the writing the trust requires. We do not draft the succession.
Does recording a Florida trust certificate put the trustee on title?
No. Official Records change when a deed to or from the trustee is recorded. The certification is for the title file. Read how a home is deeded into a trust.
Does a trust certificate replace two witnesses and a notary?
No. The deed the trustee signs still needs two subscribing witnesses and an acknowledgment before the clerk will record it. Read two witnesses and a notary on a Florida deed.
Can a settlor's power of attorney replace the trustee's signature?
Not when the recorded owner is the trustee of an identified trust. A power of attorney is a different document. Read a power of attorney at a Florida closing.
Will you draft the certification of trust?
No. The trustee or the trust's attorney prepares it. We read it, ask for the excerpts this transaction needs, and prepare or close the deed. Call (352) 792-1214. The office is at 3087 Anderson Snow Road, Spring Hill, FL 34609.