Public Act 099-0337
SB1877 EnrolledLRB099 10969 HEP 31324 b
AN ACT concerning civil law.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Trusts and Trustees Act is amended by adding
Section 8.5 as follows:
(760 ILCS 5/8.5 new)
Sec. 8.5. Certification of trust.
(a) Instead of furnishing a copy of the trust instrument to
a person other than the beneficiary, the trustee may furnish to
the person a certification of trust containing the following
information:
(1) a statement that the trust exists and the date the
trust instrument was executed;
(2) the identity of the settlor;
(3) the identity and address of the currently acting
trustee;
(4) the powers of the trustee;
(5) the revocability or irrevocability of the trust,
whether the trust is amendable or unamendable, and the
identity of any person holding a power to revoke or amend
the trust;
(6) the authority of co-trustees to sign or otherwise
authenticate and whether all or less than all are required
in order to exercise powers of the trustee;
(7) the trust's taxpayer identification number; and
(8) the manner of taking title to trust property.
(b) A certification of trust must be signed or otherwise
authenticated by one or more of the trustees. A third party may
require that the certification of trust be acknowledged.
(c) A certification of trust must state that the trust has
not been revoked, modified, or amended in any manner that would
cause the representations contained in the certification of
trust to be incorrect.
(d) A certification of trust need not contain the
dispositive terms of a trust.
(e) A recipient of a 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.
(f) A person who acts in reliance upon a certification of
trust without knowledge that the representations contained
therein are incorrect is not liable to any person for so acting
and may assume without inquiry the existence of the facts
contained in the 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 the certification.
(g) A person who in good faith enters into a transaction in
reliance upon a certification of trust may enforce the
transaction against the trust property as if the
representations contained in the certification were correct.
(h) A person making a demand for the trust instrument in
addition to a certification of trust or excerpts is liable for
damages if the court determines that the person did not act in
good faith in demanding the trust instrument. A person required
to examine a complete copy of the trust instrument for purposes
of complying with applicable federal, state, or local law, a
person acting in a fiduciary capacity with respect to a trust,
and the Attorney General's Charitable Trust Bureau are deemed
to be acting in good faith when demanding a copy of the trust
instrument. This Section does not modify or limit any
obligation a trustee may have to furnish a copy of a trust
instrument to the Attorney General under the Charitable Trust
Act or the Solicitation for Charity Act.
(i) This Section does not limit the right of a person to
obtain a copy of the trust instrument in a judicial proceeding
concerning the trust.
(j) A certification of trust may be substantially as
follows, provided that nothing in this subsection (j) shall
invalidate or bar the use of a certification of trust in any
other or different form:
CERTIFICATION OF TRUST
Name of trust:...............................................
Date trust instrument was executed:..........................
Tax Identification Number of trust (SSN or EIN):.............
Name(s) of settlor(s) of trust:..............................
Name(s) of currently acting trustee(s):......................
Address(es) of currently acting trustee(s):..................
.... This trust states that .... of .... co-trustee(s) are
required to exercise the powers of the trustee.
.... The co-trustees authorized to sign or otherwise
authenticate on behalf of the trust are:.....................
.... There are no co-trustees authorized to sign or otherwise
authenticate on behalf of the trust.
Name(s) of successor trustee(s):.............................
The trustee(s) has (have) the power to (state, synopsize, or
describe relevant powers):...................................
Title to the trust property shall be taken as follows (for
example, "John Doe and Jane Doe, co-trustees of the Doe Family
Living Trust, dated January 4, 1999"):.......................
.............................................................
.... This is an irrevocable trust.
.... This is a revocable trust. Name(s) of person(s) holding
power to revoke the trust:...................................
.... This is an unamendable trust.
.... This trust is amendable. Name(s) of person(s) holding
power to amend the trust:....................................
I (we) certify that the above named trust is in full force and
has not been revoked, modified, or amended in any manner which
would cause the representations in this Certification of Trust
to be incorrect.
IN WITNESS THEREOF, each of the undersigned, being a trustee of
the above-named trust with the authority to execute this
Certification of Trust, does hereby execute it this ..... day
of .........., .......
Trustee Signature: .............
Printed Name: ..................
Trustee Signature: .............
Printed Name: ..................
[OPTIONAL:
This instrument was signed and acknowledged before me on
.........., ...... (date) by (name/s of person/s):.........
(Signature of Notary Public):
............................
(SEAL)]
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.