August 5, 2025 • 15 mins
If you're a trustee—or even thinking about creating a trust—this one's for you. Michigan made a quiet but important change in 2018 that most people still don't understand. Here's what the Certificate of Trust does, and why it can save you time, stress, and privacy headaches.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Well, good afternoon, Michiganders. Welcome back to Tuesday with Tom,
Michigan's Only podcast, where we talk about estate planning, a
state settlement, and everything in between. As always, I'm your host,
Tom Doyle, a state planning attorney, lifelong Michigander and your
guide to planning for your future. Well, a brief recap
(00:56):
of the last episode. I talked about estate and gift taxes,
what changed and what didn't in Trump's Big Beautiful Bills.
So if you're asking yourself, how has Trump's Big Beautiful
Bill affected me and my estate plan, please listen to
(01:17):
the last week last episode where I cover that topic.
Today's show. Well, if you're a trustee in Michigan or
you're planning to use a trust as part of your
state plan, today's episode is a must listen. We're diving
into Michigan's updated Certificate of Trust law, which has now
(01:41):
been effected since March of twenty eighteen. This law can
simplify how you manage your trust, how you protect your privacy,
and streamline transactions. So we'll break down what you need
to know. But please remember what I am about to
discuss is as always for educational purposes only, It is
(02:06):
not intended to be legal advice. Every person's situation is different,
so be sure to talk with your attorney to figure
out what makes the most sense for you and your
estate plan. So let's just start an understanding Michigan certificate
(02:32):
of trust law. Let's just start with the obvious question,
what is a certificate of trust? Well, a certificate of
trust is essentially a summary document that proves a trust
exists without disclosing the full contents of the trust. So
(02:52):
trustees use the certificate, for example, when dealing with banks.
So if you've got a trust and you're going to
be dealing with a bank account relative to that trust,
you're going to need a certificate of trust for the bank,
dealing with title companies when you're selling real estate or
other financial institutions. And so, rather than handing over a
(03:15):
full copy of your trust document, which obviously contains sensitive
information perhaps about your beneficiaries, something about assets, which really
the banks and the title companies don't need to have,
the trustee can simply present a certificate of trust. Think
(03:36):
of it kind of like showing your driver's license instead
of your birth certificate. It's just enough information to prove
you are who you say you are without revealing more
than is necessary. Well, it's been some time now. Twenty
eighteen is when Michigan updated excuse me, it's trust laws
(03:59):
under the Michigan of Trust Code. Before that, certificate the
trust were very less standardized and more burdensome, and in fact,
we had two different kinds of certificates of trust. You
might have a certificate of trust that related to your
trust document, but then if you were trying to sell
(04:21):
real estate, the title company required what was then called
a certificate of trust existence. Well, the twenty eighteen revision
created a uniform format and clarified the rights of both
trustees and third parties. Now I know twenty eighteen, you
(04:41):
might be saying to yourself, Well, twenty eighteen was quite
a while ago. Why should we carry about it. Well,
if you have a trust as part of your state
plan and that or you're trying to settle in a
state on a trust that was created before twenty eighteen,
you don't have a current certificate of trust that you're
(05:04):
going to need to have. So it's not unusual today
to have clients with older estate plans where they haven't
updated them in order to make sure that the certificate
of trust was keeping up with the change under Michigan law.
So here's what a valid certificate of trust must include.
(05:26):
One the name and date of the trust. Two, the
names of the trustees. Three, a statement of the trustees'
authority to act. Four whether the trust is revocable or irrevocable.
Five names of any successor trustees, six trustees, a trust
(05:52):
taxpayer identification number if it has one. And lastly, a
statement that the trust has not been revoked or amended
in any way that affects its validity. So those are
the things that a certificate of trust has to have
per Michigan law. So if you have an old certificate
(06:16):
of trust that doesn't meet all of those requirements, you
don't have a certificate of trust that is likely going
to be accepted at the time that is needed. Now,
what are third parties allowed to ask for? So you
have a certificate of trust, but what is your for example,
bank or real estate agent allowed to ask you for. Well,
(06:40):
under Michigan certificate of trust law, third parties, again like
banks or real estate agents, must accept a valid certificate
of trust that's presented in good faith. That means they
can't demand to see the full trust document. However, they
are allowed to ask for reasonable supporting document documentation, for example,
(07:04):
proof of identity or signature authority. I'm sorry, got a
little bit of a cold going on here on this
beautiful summer day. But importantly, if a third party relies
upon a properly executed certificate of trust in good faith,
they are protected from liability, which means both sides benefit
(07:28):
from a clear, fair and steam streamlined process. So why
is a current certificate of trust important for estate planning? Well,
the law when it was enacted is basically a win
for both privacy and efficiency. First, it keeps the terms
(07:52):
of your trust and beneficiary information confidential. You don't have
to give a copy of your entire trust that would
have that information in it. And second, it makes it
much easier for trustees to manage assets, particularly when they're
going to be dealing with real estate or financial institutions.
(08:15):
For example, if you're selling a home that's held in
a trust, you don't need to provide the full trust
agreement that would then get recorded with a registered deeds
office that would then become a public record. All you
have to do is provide the certificate of trust that
obviously can speed up the process. You don't have a
(08:35):
title company that needs to read through your trust. It
maintains your privacy because it's not going to get recorded
with the registered deeds, So it is beneficial to you
in that event. If you are selling real estate that
is currently in a trust, which is oftentimes where you're
going to find that happens, you might have had perhaps
(08:57):
you're settling a trust today for somebody who created that
trust before twenty eighteen, and now you have real estate
and you're trying to sell the real estate. Well, the
title company relative to that sale is going to want
a current certificate of trust. If you had one prepared,
or the maker of the trust had one prepared prior
(09:20):
to twenty eighteen, you are likely going to find the
title company saying that is not sufficient. It needs to
be a new certificate of trust. So if you need
a new certificate of trust, you can obviously ask your
(09:41):
attorney first to review your current existing certificate of trust
to determine whether or not it is appropriate, and if not,
you could look at having new one created for you. You
need to make sure, obviously that all of the elements
are card by Michigan law are contained within that c
certificate of trust, and you certainly need to keep copies
(10:04):
of that certificate of trust with your estate plan. A
question arises, though, as to should you today go out
and have a new certificate of trust prepared even if
you don't need it today. So let's say you had
a trust that was prepared before twenty eighteen, You're looking
(10:27):
at all over, you realize you have an old certificate
of trust, and you ask the question, well, should I
go and have a certificate of trust prepared today? Will
likely not? You really only need that new certificate of
trust when you're going to use it. Why, because you're
also going to find that pretty much all the banks,
(10:48):
certainly financial institutions and title companies, they're going to insist
that not only does that certificate of trust contain all
those things that I just discussed, but they're going to
want it to be created within the last six months
before you're using it. So it doesn't make any sense
(11:09):
to just go ahead and have one prepared today, only
to find out that you're not going to use it
for a number of years, Only to find out that
after a number of years, a title company or a
bank or somebody's going to want a new one. So
generally speaking, even if you go back and review your
estate plan today and it has an old certificate of trust,
(11:29):
it might not be necessary for you to create one now,
but it will be required at some point in time
in the future. Well, if you have a question about
(12:09):
your trust or help drafting a certificate of trust, please
contact us, or better yet, if you go to DOYLELOWPC
dot com, which is our website. There you're going to
find our legal store. At the legal store you can
actually order an updated certificate of trust directly through the Internet.
(12:31):
So that's something that you can do at DOYLELOWPC dot com.
Of course, if you need to have a personal consultation,
we can arrange for that. Amand and I could arrange
for that either through an in person appointment in the
Grand Rapids office or Lansing location or wherever you happen
to be in the state of Michigan. We could consult
with you by zoom or phone and help you determine
(12:55):
what is needed. We end up regularly people simply contacting
us needing a new certificate of trust, and it can
be paired normally fairly expeditiously. When that time comes, so
simply head on over to Doyle opc dot com. There
you're going to learn how you can schedule your consultation
(13:17):
and again you can visit the Legal store to see
how you can order a certificate of trust and other
legal documents such as powers of attorney directly from us online. Well,
(13:44):
I realized this was kind of a short episode today,
but it's just a brief summary about certificate certificate of
trust if that's relevant to you. As always, though, if
you have a comment about about the program, or a
question that you'd like to have answered, or a topic
that you'd like to have me cover in a future episode,
simply head on over to Tuesday with Tom dot com.
(14:07):
You can leave me a voice message by clicking on
the microphone or send me an email to Tom at
Tuesday with Tom dot com. Please do be sure to
follow us on Facebook and fight your friends and families
to do the same. That would be Tuesday with Tom
and of course the office. Facebook is also Doyle Law PC.
(14:29):
And don't forget to subscribe to our email list at
Tuesday Withthtim dot com so you can stay up to
date with new episodes and important estate planning tips and
remember remember to You can listen to the show wherever
you enjoy your podcast. We're on a lot of different
channels such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcast, iHeartRadio,
(14:54):
and Speaker, and of course if you have a smart speaker,
you can always ask your smart speaker to play Tuesday
with Tom as well. Well. Thanks again for spending part
of your day with us, and until next time, take care,
stay safe, and have an awesome day and an awesome
(15:14):
week here in Michigan. Tuesday with Tom has been brought
to you by the estate planning attorneys at Doyle Law PC.
To learn how we can help you with your estate
plan or with settling a loved one's estate, please call
(15:35):
us today at five one seven three two three seven
three sixty six. That's five one seven three two three
seven three sixty six.
Well, good afternoon, Michiganders. Welcome back to Tuesday with Tom,
Michigan's Only podcast, where we talk about estate planning, a
state settlement, and everything in between. As always, I'm your host,
Tom Doyle, a state planning attorney, lifelong Michigander and your
guide to planning for your future. Well, a brief recap
(00:56):
of the last episode. I talked about estate and gift taxes,
what changed and what didn't in Trump's Big Beautiful Bills.
So if you're asking yourself, how has Trump's Big Beautiful
Bill affected me and my estate plan, please listen to
(01:17):
the last week last episode where I cover that topic.
Today's show. Well, if you're a trustee in Michigan or
you're planning to use a trust as part of your
state plan, today's episode is a must listen. We're diving
into Michigan's updated Certificate of Trust law, which has now
(01:41):
been effected since March of twenty eighteen. This law can
simplify how you manage your trust, how you protect your privacy,
and streamline transactions. So we'll break down what you need
to know. But please remember what I am about to
discuss is as always for educational purposes only, It is
(02:06):
not intended to be legal advice. Every person's situation is different,
so be sure to talk with your attorney to figure
out what makes the most sense for you and your
estate plan. So let's just start an understanding Michigan certificate
(02:32):
of trust law. Let's just start with the obvious question,
what is a certificate of trust? Well, a certificate of
trust is essentially a summary document that proves a trust
exists without disclosing the full contents of the trust. So
(02:52):
trustees use the certificate, for example, when dealing with banks.
So if you've got a trust and you're going to
be dealing with a bank account relative to that trust,
you're going to need a certificate of trust for the bank,
dealing with title companies when you're selling real estate or
other financial institutions. And so, rather than handing over a
(03:15):
full copy of your trust document, which obviously contains sensitive
information perhaps about your beneficiaries, something about assets, which really
the banks and the title companies don't need to have,
the trustee can simply present a certificate of trust. Think
(03:36):
of it kind of like showing your driver's license instead
of your birth certificate. It's just enough information to prove
you are who you say you are without revealing more
than is necessary. Well, it's been some time now. Twenty
eighteen is when Michigan updated excuse me, it's trust laws
(03:59):
under the Michigan of Trust Code. Before that, certificate the
trust were very less standardized and more burdensome, and in fact,
we had two different kinds of certificates of trust. You
might have a certificate of trust that related to your
trust document, but then if you were trying to sell
(04:21):
real estate, the title company required what was then called
a certificate of trust existence. Well, the twenty eighteen revision
created a uniform format and clarified the rights of both
trustees and third parties. Now I know twenty eighteen, you
(04:41):
might be saying to yourself, Well, twenty eighteen was quite
a while ago. Why should we carry about it. Well,
if you have a trust as part of your state
plan and that or you're trying to settle in a
state on a trust that was created before twenty eighteen,
you don't have a current certificate of trust that you're
(05:04):
going to need to have. So it's not unusual today
to have clients with older estate plans where they haven't
updated them in order to make sure that the certificate
of trust was keeping up with the change under Michigan law.
So here's what a valid certificate of trust must include.
(05:26):
One the name and date of the trust. Two, the
names of the trustees. Three, a statement of the trustees'
authority to act. Four whether the trust is revocable or irrevocable.
Five names of any successor trustees, six trustees, a trust
(05:52):
taxpayer identification number if it has one. And lastly, a
statement that the trust has not been revoked or amended
in any way that affects its validity. So those are
the things that a certificate of trust has to have
per Michigan law. So if you have an old certificate
(06:16):
of trust that doesn't meet all of those requirements, you
don't have a certificate of trust that is likely going
to be accepted at the time that is needed. Now,
what are third parties allowed to ask for? So you
have a certificate of trust, but what is your for example,
bank or real estate agent allowed to ask you for. Well,
(06:40):
under Michigan certificate of trust law, third parties, again like
banks or real estate agents, must accept a valid certificate
of trust that's presented in good faith. That means they
can't demand to see the full trust document. However, they
are allowed to ask for reasonable supporting document documentation, for example,
(07:04):
proof of identity or signature authority. I'm sorry, got a
little bit of a cold going on here on this
beautiful summer day. But importantly, if a third party relies
upon a properly executed certificate of trust in good faith,
they are protected from liability, which means both sides benefit
(07:28):
from a clear, fair and steam streamlined process. So why
is a current certificate of trust important for estate planning? Well,
the law when it was enacted is basically a win
for both privacy and efficiency. First, it keeps the terms
(07:52):
of your trust and beneficiary information confidential. You don't have
to give a copy of your entire trust that would
have that information in it. And second, it makes it
much easier for trustees to manage assets, particularly when they're
going to be dealing with real estate or financial institutions.
(08:15):
For example, if you're selling a home that's held in
a trust, you don't need to provide the full trust
agreement that would then get recorded with a registered deeds
office that would then become a public record. All you
have to do is provide the certificate of trust that
obviously can speed up the process. You don't have a
(08:35):
title company that needs to read through your trust. It
maintains your privacy because it's not going to get recorded
with the registered deeds, So it is beneficial to you
in that event. If you are selling real estate that
is currently in a trust, which is oftentimes where you're
going to find that happens, you might have had perhaps
(08:57):
you're settling a trust today for somebody who created that
trust before twenty eighteen, and now you have real estate
and you're trying to sell the real estate. Well, the
title company relative to that sale is going to want
a current certificate of trust. If you had one prepared,
or the maker of the trust had one prepared prior
(09:20):
to twenty eighteen, you are likely going to find the
title company saying that is not sufficient. It needs to
be a new certificate of trust. So if you need
a new certificate of trust, you can obviously ask your
(09:41):
attorney first to review your current existing certificate of trust
to determine whether or not it is appropriate, and if not,
you could look at having new one created for you. You
need to make sure, obviously that all of the elements
are card by Michigan law are contained within that c
certificate of trust, and you certainly need to keep copies
(10:04):
of that certificate of trust with your estate plan. A
question arises, though, as to should you today go out
and have a new certificate of trust prepared even if
you don't need it today. So let's say you had
a trust that was prepared before twenty eighteen, You're looking
(10:27):
at all over, you realize you have an old certificate
of trust, and you ask the question, well, should I
go and have a certificate of trust prepared today? Will
likely not? You really only need that new certificate of
trust when you're going to use it. Why, because you're
also going to find that pretty much all the banks,
(10:48):
certainly financial institutions and title companies, they're going to insist
that not only does that certificate of trust contain all
those things that I just discussed, but they're going to
want it to be created within the last six months
before you're using it. So it doesn't make any sense
(11:09):
to just go ahead and have one prepared today, only
to find out that you're not going to use it
for a number of years, Only to find out that
after a number of years, a title company or a
bank or somebody's going to want a new one. So
generally speaking, even if you go back and review your
estate plan today and it has an old certificate of trust,
(11:29):
it might not be necessary for you to create one now,
but it will be required at some point in time
in the future. Well, if you have a question about
(12:09):
your trust or help drafting a certificate of trust, please
contact us, or better yet, if you go to DOYLELOWPC
dot com, which is our website. There you're going to
find our legal store. At the legal store you can
actually order an updated certificate of trust directly through the Internet.
(12:31):
So that's something that you can do at DOYLELOWPC dot com.
Of course, if you need to have a personal consultation,
we can arrange for that. Amand and I could arrange
for that either through an in person appointment in the
Grand Rapids office or Lansing location or wherever you happen
to be in the state of Michigan. We could consult
with you by zoom or phone and help you determine
(12:55):
what is needed. We end up regularly people simply contacting
us needing a new certificate of trust, and it can
be paired normally fairly expeditiously. When that time comes, so
simply head on over to Doyle opc dot com. There
you're going to learn how you can schedule your consultation
(13:17):
and again you can visit the Legal store to see
how you can order a certificate of trust and other
legal documents such as powers of attorney directly from us online. Well,
(13:44):
I realized this was kind of a short episode today,
but it's just a brief summary about certificate certificate of
trust if that's relevant to you. As always, though, if
you have a comment about about the program, or a
question that you'd like to have answered, or a topic
that you'd like to have me cover in a future episode,
simply head on over to Tuesday with Tom dot com.
(14:07):
You can leave me a voice message by clicking on
the microphone or send me an email to Tom at
Tuesday with Tom dot com. Please do be sure to
follow us on Facebook and fight your friends and families
to do the same. That would be Tuesday with Tom
and of course the office. Facebook is also Doyle Law PC.
(14:29):
And don't forget to subscribe to our email list at
Tuesday Withthtim dot com so you can stay up to
date with new episodes and important estate planning tips and
remember remember to You can listen to the show wherever
you enjoy your podcast. We're on a lot of different
channels such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcast, iHeartRadio,
(14:54):
and Speaker, and of course if you have a smart speaker,
you can always ask your smart speaker to play Tuesday
with Tom as well. Well. Thanks again for spending part
of your day with us, and until next time, take care,
stay safe, and have an awesome day and an awesome
(15:14):
week here in Michigan. Tuesday with Tom has been brought
to you by the estate planning attorneys at Doyle Law PC.
To learn how we can help you with your estate
plan or with settling a loved one's estate, please call
(15:35):
us today at five one seven three two three seven
three sixty six. That's five one seven three two three
seven three sixty six.
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