SECTIONS 18100-18108 - California Statutes

PROBATE CODE

SECTION 18100-18108

18100. With respect to a third person dealing with a trustee or
assisting a trustee in the conduct of a transaction, if the third
person acts in good faith and for a valuable consideration and
without actual knowledge that the trustee is exceeding the trustee's
powers or improperly exercising them:
(a) The third person is not bound to inquire whether the trustee
has power to act or is properly exercising a power and may assume
without inquiry the existence of a trust power and its proper
exercise.
(b) The third person is fully protected in dealing with or
assisting the trustee just as if the trustee has and is properly
exercising the power the trustee purports to exercise.

18100.5. (a) The trustee may present a certification of trust to
any person in lieu of providing a copy of the trust instrument to
establish the existence or terms of the trust. A certification of
trust may be executed by the trustee voluntarily or at the request of
the person with whom the trustee is dealing.
(b) The certification of trust may confirm the following facts or
contain the following information:
(1) The existence of the trust and date of execution of the trust
instrument.
(2) The identity of the settlor or settlors and the currently
acting trustee or trustees of the trust.
(3) The powers of the trustee.
(4) The revocability or irrevocability of the trust and the
identity of any person holding any power to revoke the trust.
(5) When there are multiple trustees, the signature authority of
the trustees, indicating whether all, or less than all, of the
currently acting trustees are required to sign in order to exercise
various powers of the trustee.
(6) The trust identification number, whether a social security
number or an employer identification number.
(7) The manner in which title to trust assets should be taken.
(8) The legal description of any interest in real property held in
the trust.
(c) The certification shall contain a statement that the trust has
not been revoked, modified, or amended in any manner which would
cause the representations contained in the certification of trust to
be incorrect and shall contain a statement that it is being signed by
all of the currently acting trustees of the trust. The certification
shall be in the form of an acknowledged declaration signed by all
currently acting trustees of the trust. The certification signed by
the currently acting trustee may be recorded in the office of the
county recorder in the county where all or a portion of the real
property is located.
(d) The certification of trust may, but is not required to,
include excerpts from the original trust documents, any amendments
thereto, and any other documents evidencing or pertaining to the
succession of successor trustees. The certification of trust shall
not be required to contain the dispositive provisions of the trust
which set forth the distribution of the trust estate.
(e) A person whose interest is, or may be, affected by the
certification of trust may require that the trustee offering or
recording the certification of trust provide copies of those excerpts
from the original trust documents, any amendments thereto, and any
other documents which designate, evidence, or pertain to the
succession of the trustee or confer upon the trustee the power to act
in the pending transaction, or both. Nothing in this section is
intended to require or imply an obligation to provide the dispositive
provisions of the trust or the entire trust and amendments thereto.
(f) A person who acts in reliance upon a certification of trust
without actual knowledge that the representations contained therein
are incorrect is not liable to any person for so acting. A person who
does not have actual knowledge that the facts contained in the
certification of trust are incorrect may assume without inquiry the
existence of the facts contained in the certification of trust.
Actual 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. Any transaction, and any lien
created thereby, entered into by the trustee and a person acting in
reliance upon a certification of trust shall be enforceable against
the trust assets. However, if the person has actual knowledge that
the trustee is acting outside the scope of the trust, then the
transaction is not enforceable against the trust assets. Nothing
contained herein shall limit the rights of the beneficiaries of the
trust against the trustee.
(g) A person's failure to demand a certification of trust does not
affect the protection provided that person by Section 18100, and no
inference as to whether that person has acted in good faith may be
drawn from the failure to demand a certification of trust. Nothing in
this section is intended to create an implication that a person is
liable for acting in reliance upon a certification of trust under
circumstances where the requirements of this section are not
satisfied.
(h) Except when requested by a beneficiary or in the context of
litigation concerning a trust and subject to the provisions of
subdivision (e), any person making a demand for the trust documents
in addition to a certification of trust to prove facts set forth in
the certification of trust acceptable to the third party shall be
liable for damages, including attorney's fees, incurred as a result
of the refusal to accept the certification of trust in lieu of the
requested documents if the court determines that the person acted in
bad faith in requesting the trust documents.
(i) Any person may record a certification of trust that relates to
an interest in real property in the office of the county recorder in
any county in which all or a portion of the real property is
located. The county recorder shall impose any fee prescribed by law
for recording that document sufficient to cover all costs incurred by
the county in recording the document. The recorded certification of
trust shall be a public record of the real property involved. This
subdivision does not create a requirement to record a certification
of trust in conjunction with the recordation of a transfer of title
of real property involving a trust.

18101. A third person who acts in good faith is not bound to ensure
the proper application of trust property paid or delivered to the
trustee.

18102. If a third person acting in good faith and for a valuable
consideration enters into a transaction with a former trustee without
knowledge that the person is no longer a trustee, the third person
is fully protected just as if the former trustee were still a
trustee.

18103. If an express trust relating to real property is not
contained or declared in the grant to the trustee, or in an
instrument signed by the trustee and recorded in the same office with
the grant to the trustee, the grant shall be deemed absolute in
favor of a person dealing with the trustee in good faith and for a
valuable consideration.

18104. (a) If an interest in or lien or encumbrance on real
property is conveyed, created, or affected by an instrument in favor
of a person in trust but no beneficiary is indicated in the
instrument, it is presumed that the person holds the interest, lien,
or encumbrance absolutely and free of the trust. This is a
presumption affecting the burden of proof. In an action or proceeding
involving the interest, lien, or encumbrance instituted against the
person, the person shall be deemed the only necessary representative
of the undisclosed beneficiary and of the original grantor or settlor
and anyone claiming under them. A judgment is binding upon and
conclusive against these persons as to all matters finally
adjudicated in the judgment.
(b) An instrument executed by the person holding an interest,
lien, or encumbrance described in subdivision (a), whether purporting
to be the act of that person in his or her own right or in the
capacity of a trustee, is presumed to affect the interest, lien, or
encumbrance according to the tenor of the instrument. This is a
presumption affecting the burden of proof. Upon the recording of the
instrument in the county where the land affected by the instrument is
located, the presumption is conclusive in favor of a person acting
in good faith and for valuable consideration.

18105. If title to an interest in real property is affected by a
change of trustee, the successor trustee may execute and record in
the county in which the property is located an affidavit of change of
trustee. The county recorder shall impose any fee prescribed by law
for recording that document in an amount sufficient to cover all
costs incurred by the county in recording the document. The affidavit
shall include the legal description of the real property, the name
of the former trustee or trustees and the name of the successor
trustee or trustees. The affidavit may also, but is not required to,
include excerpts from the original trust documents, any amendments
thereto, and any other documents evidencing or pertaining to the
succession of the successor trustee or trustees.

18106. (a) A document establishing the fact of change of trustee
recorded pursuant to this chapter is subject to all statutory
requirements for recorded documents.
(b) The county recorder shall index a document establishing the
fact of change of a trustee recorded pursuant to this section in the
index of grantors and grantees. The index entry shall be for the
grantor, and for the purpose of this index, the person who has been
succeeded as trustee shall be deemed to be the grantor. The county
recorder shall impose any fee prescribed by law for indexing that
document in an amount sufficient to cover all costs incurred by the
county in indexing the document.

18107. A document establishing the change of a trustee recorded
pursuant to this chapter is prima facie evidence of the change of
trustee insofar as the document identifies an interest in real
property located in the county, title to which is affected by the
change of trustee. The presumption established by this section is a
presumption affecting the burden of producing evidence.

18108. Any person whose interest is, or may be, affected by the
recordation of an affidavit of change of trustee pursuant to this
chapter may require that the successor trustee provide copies of
those excerpts from the original trust documents, any amendments
thereto, and any other documents which evidence or pertain to the
succession of the successor trustee or trustees. Nothing in this
section is intended to require or imply an obligation to provide the
dispositive provisions of the trust or the entire trust and any
amendments thereto.