Alabama · Ala. Code §§19-3B-1012, 19-3B-1013Alabama certification of trust: what the trustee gives the closing instead of the trust

Instead of furnishing a copy of the trust instrument to someone other than a beneficiary, an Alabama trustee may provide a certification of trust stating that the trust exists and the date it was signed, the settlor, the currently acting trustee and address, the trustee's powers in the pending transaction, whether the trust is revocable and who can revoke it, the cotrustees' authority to sign and whether all must act, the trust's taxpayer identification number, and the name in which title to trust property may be taken (Ala. Code §19-3B-1013(a)). Any trustee may sign it; it must state that the trust hasn't been revoked, modified or amended in a way that would make it incorrect; and it needn't contain the dispositive terms (§19-3B-1013(b)–(d)). The recipient may require copies of the excerpts from the trust and later amendments that designate the trustee and give the power to act in the transaction (§19-3B-1013(e)). A person who relies on the certification without knowing it is wrong isn't liable, may assume its facts, and may enforce the transaction against the trust property; demanding the full trust in bad faith can make the person liable for damages (§19-3B-1013(f)–(h)). A person other than a beneficiary who deals with a trustee in good faith and for value, without knowing the trustee is exceeding or misusing its powers, is protected as if the power were properly used, need not inquire into those powers, and needn't ensure the proper use of money paid to the trustee (§19-3B-1012(a)–(c)).