This text of Iowa § 633A.4604 (Certification of trust) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.
1.A trustee may present a certification of trust to any person in lieu of providing a copy
of the trust instrument to establish the trust’s existence or terms or the trustee’s authority.
2.The certification of trust must do all of the following:
a.State the names of all the currently acting trustees.
b.If there is more than one currently acting trustee, state whether the trustees may act
individually or must act by majority decision or must act by unanimous decision.
c.State that the trust has not been revoked, modified, or amended in any manner that
would cause the representations in the certification of trust to be incorrect.
d.Be signed by a currently acting trustee or the attorney of an acting trustee.
e.Be dated and certified under penalty of perjury and pursuant to the laws of
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1. A trustee may present a certification of trust to any person in lieu of providing a copy
of the trust instrument to establish the trust’s existence or terms or the trustee’s authority.
2. The certification of trust must do all of the following:
a. State the names of all the currently acting trustees.
b. If there is more than one currently acting trustee, state whether the trustees may act
individually or must act by majority decision or must act by unanimous decision.
c. State that the trust has not been revoked, modified, or amended in any manner that
would cause the representations in the certification of trust to be incorrect.
d. Be signed by a currently acting trustee or the attorney of an acting trustee.
e. Be dated and certified under penalty of perjury and pursuant to the laws of the state of
Iowa that the certification of trust is true and correct or be subscribed and sworn to under
penalty of perjury before a notary public as provided in chapter 9B.
3. A certification of trust need not contain the dispositive provisions of the trust which set
forth the distribution of the trust estate.
4. A person may require that the trustee offering the certification of trust provide proof
of the trustee’s identity and copies of those excerpts from the original trust instrument and
amendments to the original trust instrument which designate the trustee and confer upon the
trustee the power to act in the pending transaction.
5. A person who acts in reliance upon a certification of trust after taking reasonable steps
to verify the identity of the trustee and without knowledge that the representations contained
in the certification 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. The period of time to
verify the identity of the trustee shall not exceed ten business days from the date the person
received the certification of trust. Knowledge shall 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 trust
certification. Atransaction,andaliencreatedbyatransaction,enteredintobythetrusteeand
a person acting in reliance upon a certification of trust is enforceable against the trust assets.
41 IOWA TRUST CODE, §633A.4606
6. A person making a demand for the trust instrument in addition to a certification of
trust or excerpts shall be liable for damages, including attorney fees, incurred as a result of
the refusal to accept the certification of trust or excerpts in lieu of the trust instrument if the
court determines that the person acted unreasonably in requesting the trust instrument.
7. a. If a trustee has provided a certification of trust and a person refuses to pay, deliver,
or transfer any property owed to or owned by the trust within a reasonable time thereafter,
the trustee may bring an action under this subsection and the court may award any or all of
the following to the trustee:
(1) Any damages sustained by the trust.
(2) The costs of the action.
(3) A penalty in an amount of not less than five hundred dollars and not more than ten
thousand dollars.
(4) Reasonable attorney fees, based on the value of the time reasonably expended by the
attorney and not on the amount of the recovery on behalf of the trustee.
b. An action shall not be brought under this subsection more than one year after the date
of the occurrence of the alleged violation.
8. This section does not limit the rights of beneficiaries to obtain copies of the trust
instrument or rights of others to obtain copies in a proceeding concerning the trust.