SB1877 EnrolledLRB099 10969 HEP 31324 b
1 AN ACT concerning civil law.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Trusts and Trustees Act is amended by adding
5Section 8.5 as follows:
6 (760 ILCS 5/8.5 new)
7 Sec. 8.5. Certification of trust.
8 (a) Instead of furnishing a copy of the trust instrument to
9a person other than the beneficiary, the trustee may furnish to
10the person a certification of trust containing the following
11information:
12 (1) a statement that the trust exists and the date the
13 trust instrument was executed;
14 (2) the identity of the settlor;
15 (3) the identity and address of the currently acting
16 trustee;
17 (4) the powers of the trustee;
18 (5) the revocability or irrevocability of the trust,
19 whether the trust is amendable or unamendable, and the
20 identity of any person holding a power to revoke or amend
21 the trust;
22 (6) the authority of co-trustees to sign or otherwise
23 authenticate and whether all or less than all are required

SB1877 Enrolled- 2 -LRB099 10969 HEP 31324 b
1 in order to exercise powers of the trustee;
2 (7) the trust's taxpayer identification number; and
3 (8) the manner of taking title to trust property.
4 (b) A certification of trust must be signed or otherwise
5authenticated by one or more of the trustees. A third party may
6require that the certification of trust be acknowledged.
7 (c) A certification of trust must state that the trust has
8not been revoked, modified, or amended in any manner that would
9cause the representations contained in the certification of
10trust to be incorrect.
11 (d) A certification of trust need not contain the
12dispositive terms of a trust.
13 (e) A recipient of a certification of trust may require the
14trustee to furnish copies of those excerpts from the original
15trust instrument and later amendments which designate the
16trustee and confer upon the trustee the power to act in the
17pending transaction.
18 (f) A person who acts in reliance upon a certification of
19trust without knowledge that the representations contained
20therein are incorrect is not liable to any person for so acting
21and may assume without inquiry the existence of the facts
22contained in the certification. Knowledge of the terms of the
23trust may not be inferred solely from the fact that a copy of
24all or part of the trust instrument is held by the person
25relying upon the certification.
26 (g) A person who in good faith enters into a transaction in

SB1877 Enrolled- 3 -LRB099 10969 HEP 31324 b
1reliance upon a certification of trust may enforce the
2transaction against the trust property as if the
3representations contained in the certification were correct.
4 (h) A person making a demand for the trust instrument in
5addition to a certification of trust or excerpts is liable for
6damages if the court determines that the person did not act in
7good faith in demanding the trust instrument. A person required
8to examine a complete copy of the trust instrument for purposes
9of complying with applicable federal, state, or local law, a
10person acting in a fiduciary capacity with respect to a trust,
11and the Attorney General's Charitable Trust Bureau are deemed
12to be acting in good faith when demanding a copy of the trust
13instrument. This Section does not modify or limit any
14obligation a trustee may have to furnish a copy of a trust
15instrument to the Attorney General under the Charitable Trust
16Act or the Solicitation for Charity Act.
17 (i) This Section does not limit the right of a person to
18obtain a copy of the trust instrument in a judicial proceeding
19concerning the trust.
20 (j) A certification of trust may be substantially as
21follows, provided that nothing in this subsection (j) shall
22invalidate or bar the use of a certification of trust in any
23other or different form:
24
CERTIFICATION OF TRUST
25Name of trust:...............................................
26Date trust instrument was executed:..........................

SB1877 Enrolled- 4 -LRB099 10969 HEP 31324 b
1Tax Identification Number of trust (SSN or EIN):.............
2Name(s) of settlor(s) of trust:..............................
3Name(s) of currently acting trustee(s):......................
4Address(es) of currently acting trustee(s):..................
5.... This trust states that .... of .... co-trustee(s) are
6required to exercise the powers of the trustee.
7.... The co-trustees authorized to sign or otherwise
8authenticate on behalf of the trust are:.....................
9.... There are no co-trustees authorized to sign or otherwise
10authenticate on behalf of the trust.
11Name(s) of successor trustee(s):.............................
12The trustee(s) has (have) the power to (state, synopsize, or
13describe relevant powers):...................................
14Title to the trust property shall be taken as follows (for
15example, "John Doe and Jane Doe, co-trustees of the Doe Family
16Living Trust, dated January 4, 1999"):.......................
17.............................................................
18.... This is an irrevocable trust.
19.... This is a revocable trust. Name(s) of person(s) holding
20power to revoke the trust:...................................
21.... This is an unamendable trust.
22.... This trust is amendable. Name(s) of person(s) holding
23power to amend the trust:....................................
24I (we) certify that the above named trust is in full force and
25has not been revoked, modified, or amended in any manner which

SB1877 Enrolled- 5 -LRB099 10969 HEP 31324 b
1would cause the representations in this Certification of Trust
2to be incorrect.
3IN WITNESS THEREOF, each of the undersigned, being a trustee of
4the above-named trust with the authority to execute this
5Certification of Trust, does hereby execute it this ..... day
6of .........., .......
7Trustee Signature: .............
8Printed Name: ..................
9Trustee Signature: .............
10Printed Name: ..................
11[OPTIONAL:
12This instrument was signed and acknowledged before me on
13.........., ...... (date) by (name/s of person/s):.........
14(Signature of Notary Public):
15............................
16(SEAL)]
17 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
18becoming law.