The bank wants proof of your trust — without reading the whole thing.
A Certificate of Trust proves the trust exists and that you have authority to act, without disclosing who inherits what. It is what a bank, credit union or brokerage asks for before retitling an account into your trust. Made your trust online and never received one? TruPoint prepares it for $200, usually the same day.
What it costs
- Certificate of Trust — $200
- Trust-funding deed, to move a home into the trust — $250
- Affidavit of Successor Trustee — $250
- Living trust, if you need one drafted — from $695
- Notarization — $15 first, $7 each additional in Clark County
- Mobile notary — quote on request in Clark County
What a Certificate of Trust is, and why institutions insist on one.
A Certificate of Trust is a short signed document that confirms a trust exists, states who the trustee is, and sets out the powers that trustee holds — without disclosing the full terms of the trust or naming who inherits what. Banks, credit unions, brokerages and title companies ask for it before they will retitle an account or deal with a trustee. TruPoint prepares one for $200, whether or not we drafted the trust.
The reason it exists is privacy. A trust document says what everybody gets. Handing that to a teller so they can change the name on a savings account means putting your family’s inheritance, your children’s shares and any unequal treatment between them into a stranger’s file. The certificate gives the institution exactly what it needs to act — that the trust is real, that you are the trustee, and that you have power to do the thing you are asking to do — and nothing else.
It is also the document that turns a signed trust into a working one. People sign a trust and assume the job is done. It is not. Accounts have to be retitled into the trust, and property has to be deeded into it. The certificate is what the bank wants for the first of those. A funding deed is what the county needs for the second.
Usually somebody standing at a bank counter, being told no.
You made the trust online
Software and template services often produce the trust and nothing else. No certificate, no funding deed, and no one to call when the bank asks for paperwork you have never heard of.
The bank will not retitle the account
The most common reason people find this page. The institution needs proof of the trust and of your authority before it will change the name on an account.
You do not want to hand over the trust
Perfectly reasonable. The certificate lets you prove what needs proving while your beneficiaries and their shares stay private.
You have become the successor trustee
Institutions will usually want the certificate alongside the Affidavit of Successor Trustee that puts you on the record.
You are refinancing or selling
Where property is held in the trust, a lender or title company will ask for the certificate before they will proceed.
Your old certificate is out of date
Trustees change, trusts get restated, and an institution will reject a certificate that no longer matches the trust as it stands.
A bonded Nevada preparer, and a team you can reach.
Meet Quinnie Do
Quinnie founded TruPoint and leads a small team of document preparers working under the firm’s Nevada Document Preparation Service registration, issued by the Nevada Secretary of State and backed by a bond. We prepare the certificate from your existing trust, whoever drafted it, and we will tell you if what the institution is asking for is something else entirely.
Quinnie is a native English and Vietnamese speaker, an IRS-registered tax return preparer and Certifying Acceptance Agent. Notarization is available in the Las Vegas office, so in most cases you can sign the same day it is prepared.
Enough to satisfy the bank. Nothing more.
Signed by the trustee and notarized. Most institutions accept it as it stands. Some have their own form they would rather you use — if yours does, send it over and we will tell you whether it asks for anything your trust does not support.
$200, whoever drafted your trust.
What people ask at the bank counter, answered plainly.
It is a short signed document confirming that a trust exists, who the trustee is, and what powers that trustee holds, without disclosing the full terms or naming who inherits what. Banks, credit unions, brokerages and title companies ask for it before dealing with a trustee. TruPoint prepares one for $200.
Almost always a Certificate of Trust. The institution needs proof that the trust is real and that you have authority to act for it before it will change the name on an account. We prepare it for $200, usually the same day, and you take it to the bank.
Yes, and it is the most common reason people call us about this. Software and template services often produce the trust document alone, with no certificate and no funding deed. We prepare the certificate from your existing trust whether or not we drafted it.
That is exactly what the certificate is designed to avoid. Your trust says what everyone inherits. The certificate gives the institution only what it needs to act, so your beneficiaries and their shares stay private.
$200. Most are prepared the same day we receive your trust. Clark County clients who sign with our Las Vegas partner notary pay $15 for the first signature and $7 for each additional signature by the same signer, and a mobile notary is available there on quote.
Usually not. A certificate is normally handed to the bank or brokerage rather than recorded, so there is generally no county recording fee. Where a lender or title company asks for it to be recorded, recording is $50 plus the county fee.
No, and people need both for different assets. The certificate is what a bank wants before retitling an account. A funding deed is what moves your house into the trust and is recorded with the county. Accounts and real property are funded separately.
Usually yes, and institutions typically want it alongside an Affidavit of Successor Trustee, which puts you on the record as trustee. The affidavit is $250 and the certificate is $200. We prepare both together.
You can, and some institutions insist on it. Send us their form and we will tell you whether it asks for anything your trust does not actually support, which is a common reason these get bounced back. Filling in a form that misstates your trust helps nobody.
Usually because it no longer matches the trust as it stands. Trustees change, trusts get amended or restated, and a certificate naming a trustee who has resigned or died will be refused. We prepare a current one from your trust as it reads today.
A copy of the trust, including any amendments or restatements, and the name of the institution asking for the certificate. If the trust has been amended more than once, send everything, because the certificate has to reflect the trust as it currently reads.
Nevada does not require one to prepare a certificate. A registered Document Preparation Service prepares it at your direction from the trust you already have. If your trust is unclear about who may act or what powers they hold, that is a question for an attorney and we will say so.
Yes. Intake and preparation are handled without you travelling, you sign before any notary near you, and the certificate is emailed to you to take or send to your institution.
Yes. A revocable living trust starts at $695, the funding deed that moves a home into it is $250, and the certificate is $200. We quote the whole thing in writing before any drafting begins.
Most institutions accept the same certificate, and you can present copies at several. Some have internal requirements or their own form, which is worth checking before you make the trip.
Yes. Quinnie is a native English and Vietnamese speaker and handles the entire matter in either language.
The certificate handles accounts. Property needs a deed.
Send us the trust. We will send back the certificate.
Most are ready the same day. $200, prepared from your existing trust whoever drafted it, in English or Vietnamese, with notarization available in our Las Vegas office or remotely. We also prepare and record deeds in all 17 Nevada counties.