Utah: Certification of Trust Requirements

Requirements one by one

Utah requires seven listed information groups

Utah Code § 75B-2-1013(1) authorizes a trustee to furnish a certification instead
of the trust instrument to a person other than a beneficiary. The certification must
state the trust's existence and execution date, settlor identity, the acting trustee's
identity and address, revocability and any revocation-power holder, cotrustee
authentication authority, and the name in which title to trust property may be taken.

The powers field is expressly limited to “the powers of the trustee in the pending
transaction.” Subsection (3) separately requires a statement that no revocation,
modification, or amendment makes the certification's representations incorrect.

Any trustee may authenticate, including electronically

Section 75B-2-1013(2) says the certification “may be signed or otherwise authenticated
by any trustee.” The signer need not be every cotrustee merely because the certification
must report how many cotrustees are needed to exercise the underlying power.

Utah Code § 75-13-101(5) expressly includes a certification under § 75B-2-1013 in the
definition of a non-testamentary estate planning document. Utah Code § 75-13-201(1)-(3)
applies to the electronic document and signature unless the document itself precludes
electronic use. Utah Code § 75-13-204(1)-(3) prevents denial of legal effect solely
because the document or signature is electronic. Section 75-13-303 makes that chapter
applicable to covered electronic documents handled before, on, or after May 6, 2026.

Neither the certification section nor the cited electronic provisions impose a
universal oath, acknowledgment, witness, or notary ceremony.

Utah's title field asks for a name, not a property schedule

Section 75B-2-1013(1)(g) requires “the name in which title to trust property may be
taken.” The seven-item list does not separately require a legal description, parcel
number, account number, transaction-property inventory, trust situs, governing-law
statement, amendment history, successor-trustee list, or taxpayer identification
number.

That distinction matters because the certification reports the authorized title name;
the section does not make the certification itself a conveyance or asset-transfer
instrument. Section 75-13-101(5)(c) also excludes a deed of real property from the
electronic-estate-planning act's document definition.

Dispositive terms may stay private, subject to narrow excerpts

Under § 75B-2-1013(4), the certification need not contain dispositive terms.
Subsection (5) permits the recipient to require excerpts from the original instrument
and later amendments that designate the trustee and confer the power needed for the
pending transaction.

The excerpt right is therefore tied to trustee identity and transaction authority, not
every trust term or every document a recipient might prefer to review.

Reliance, enforcement, and demand remedies use separate tests

Section 75B-2-1013(6) protects reliance without knowledge that the certification is
wrong and permits the person to assume the certified facts without inquiry. Holding
all or part of the trust instrument does not by itself impute knowledge of its terms.

Subsection (7) requires good faith to enforce the transaction against trust property.
Subsection (8) separately makes a person liable for “costs, expenses, attorney fees,
and damages” when a court finds that a demand for the trust instrument in addition to
the certification or excerpts was not made in good faith.

What trips people up

• The powers statement is transaction-specific. Utah does not require a schedule
  of every statutory and instrument-granted trustee power.
• Any trustee may authenticate. The cotrustee-authority statement does not become
  an all-trustee signature rule.
• Electronic form is already current law. The separate recognition act has been
  effective since May 6, 2026; it is not a future amendment.
• The section states no recording effect. It does not say that recording is
  required, transfers title, or creates constructive notice.

Common questions

Does the certification prove that the trust was validly created?

No. Section 75B-2-1013 governs selected representations and reliance consequences.
It does not decide a separate dispute over trust creation or validity.

Can the substitute-document route be used for a beneficiary request?

Not under subsection (1). The statutory certification route applies when the person
receiving it is someone other than a beneficiary.

Can a litigant still obtain the full trust instrument?

Yes. Section 75B-2-1013(9) preserves the right to obtain it in a judicial proceeding
concerning the trust.

Statutes and sources

• Utah Code § 75B-2-1013(1)-(9) — availability, seven required information
  groups, transaction-specific powers, any-trustee authentication, no-inaccuracy
  statement, omitted dispositive terms, limited excerpts, reliance, enforcement,
  bad-faith-demand remedies, and judicial access. Utah Legislature
  (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Utah Code § 75-13-101(5) — certifications included as non-testamentary estate
  planning documents and deeds excluded. Utah Legislature
  (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Utah Code §§ 75-13-201 and 75-13-204 — electronic-document scope and legal
  recognition of electronic records and signatures. Utah Legislature, scope;
  Utah Legislature, recognition
  (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Utah Code § 75-13-303 — application before, on, or after May 6, 2026. Utah
  Legislature
  (accessed 2026-07-31).