Nebraska: Certification of Trust Requirements

Requirements one by one

Nebraska's eleven-item list is permissive

Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 30-38,102 to 30-38,106 let trustees voluntarily or on request
present a certification to a person other than a beneficiary in place of the
instrument to establish the trust's existence or terms. The recipient is expressly
free to refuse to accept and rely solely on the certification.

Section 30-38,103(a) says the document “may” confirm eleven categories. They include
different date rules for inter vivos and testamentary trusts; creator and current-
trustee identities; powers and restrictions; successor selection; revocability;
cotrustee action; the trust identifier and SSN/EIN type; beneficiary names and
relationships; establishing jurisdiction; title form; and homestead-ownership
information.

Those facts are optional, not a mandatory eleven-field checklist. The homestead item,
added by LB 838, has been operative since July 18, 2026.

Two statements and every trustee's execution are mandatory

Section 30-38,103(b) requires a statement that no revocation or amendment makes the
certification's representations incorrect and that the signatures belong to all acting
trustees.

Section 30-38,102(b) separately requires the certification to be an affidavit signed
and acknowledged by every acting trustee. Even when fewer trustees may exercise an
identified trust power, all acting trustees execute the certification.

The statute says “acknowledged.” It does not separately prescribe witnesses or add a
distinct sworn-oath ceremony to the acknowledgment text.

Nebraska permits copies as well as excerpts

Section 30-38,104 permits dispositive provisions to remain out of the certification.
The recipient may nevertheless require copies of, or excerpts from, any trust
instrument that designates the trustee or confers power to act in the pending
transaction.

This wording is broader than a rule limited to excerpts alone, but it remains tied to
trustee designation and transaction power rather than every distribution term.

Reliance protection coexists with a right to refuse

Section 30-38,105 protects reliance without knowledge that the representations are
wrong and permits assumption of them without inquiry. Holding all or part of an
instrument does not by itself impute knowledge.

Nebraska supplies no separate good-faith transaction-enforcement subsection and no
bad-faith full-instrument-demand damages rule. Section 30-38,106 instead says neither
failure to demand a certification nor refusal to accept and rely solely on it is an
improper act or evidence about good faith.

Section 30-38,107 applies these rules to trusts established under Nebraska law or the
law of another state or jurisdiction.

What trips people up

• Beneficiary names are optional certification contents. Paragraph (a)(8) appears
  inside the permissive “may confirm” list.
• All acting trustees sign and acknowledge. That execution rule is independent of
  how many trustees may exercise the underlying power.
• A recipient may reject certificate-only reliance. Compliance does not force
  acceptance or the transaction.
• The sections state no recording effect. They name no recorder, filing condition,
  constructive-notice rule, priority consequence, or transfer effect.

Common questions

Must a certification disclose every beneficiary and relationship?

No. Section 30-38,103(a) permits that information but does not make the eleven listed
categories mandatory. A recipient may separately decline to rely on the certification
alone.

Does the certification have to state the trust's SSN or EIN?

Not universally. The identifying number and its type are among the facts the
certification may contain.

Do the Nebraska provisions apply to an out-of-state trust?

Yes. Section 30-38,107 says §§ 30-38,102-.106 apply whether the trust was established
under Nebraska law or another jurisdiction's law.

Statutes and sources

• Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 30-38,102 to 30-38,106 — voluntary/requested use,
  no-acceptance rule, all-trustee affidavit and acknowledgment, optional eleven-item
  content list, mandatory statements, omitted dispositive terms, copies or excerpts,
  reliance, and refusal protection. Nebraska Legislature
  (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-38,107 — application to Nebraska and out-of-state trusts.
  Nebraska Legislature
  (accessed 2026-07-31).