Handout 7 Revocable Trust Sample
Handout 7 Revocable Trust Sample
Handout 7 Revocable Trust Sample
LAW OFFICE S
Article One
Establishing Our Trust
The date of this trust is October 27, 2018. The parties to this trust are First Name Last
Name and Wife First Name Last Name (the Trustmakers) and First Name Last Name and
Wife First Name Last Name (collectively, our Trustee).
We intend to create a valid trust under the laws of California and under the laws of any
state in which any trust created under this trust document is administered. The terms of
this trust prevail over any provision of California law, except those provisions that are
mandatory and may not be waived.
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community property, will retain its character as community property while we are alive
and married to the same extent as if it had not been conveyed to our trust.
(a) Community Property
Any community property transferred to our trust, including the property’s
income and the proceeds from the property’s sale or exchange, will retain
its character as community property during our lives, to the same extent as
if it had not been transferred to our trust.
(b) Separate Property
Separate property transferred to our trust will retain its character as separate
property. Our separate property may be identified as the separate property
of either of us on the attached schedules. The separate property of either of
us, including the property’s income and proceeds from the property’s sale
or exchange, will remain separate property. Each of us has the unrestricted
right to remove all or any part of our separate property at any time.
An amount that is payable to our trust on a life insurance policy that is the
separate property of either of us will retain its character as separate property.
(c) Joint Property
If joint tenancy property with right of survivorship is transferred to our trust,
we will be considered to have severed the joint tenancy immediately before
transferring the property, and no right of survivorship will exist with respect
to this property.
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Any amendment, restatement, or revocation must be made in writing and
delivered to our then-serving Trustee.
(c) Addition or Removal of Trust Property
Either of us may add property to our trust. Both of us, acting jointly may
remove any property from our trust. Each of us, acting alone, may remove
our own separate property from our trust. Community property removed
from our trust will retain its character as community property.
(d) Control of Income and Principal Distributions
We retain the right to control the distribution of income and principal from
our trust. We may direct our Trustee to distribute as much of the net income
and principal of the trust property as we consider advisable to us or to other
persons or entities. Our Trustee may distribute the net income and principal
to us or for our unrestricted use and benefit, even to the exhaustion of all
trust property. Any undistributed net income is to be added to the principal
of our trust.
(e) Approval of Investment Decisions
We reserve the absolute right to review and change our Trustee’s investment
decisions. But our Trustee is not required to seek our approval before
making investment decisions.
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Article Two
Family Information
We were married on October 27, 2018. First Name Last Name is referred to in this trust
as husband, and Wife First Name Last Name is referred to in this trust as wife.
We have one child, Child #1, born on October 27, 2018.
All references in this document to our children are references to this child, and any children
subsequently born to us or adopted by us by legal proceeding.
References to our descendants are to our children and their descendants, including any
deceased child’s descendants.
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Article Three
Trustee Succession
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After the death of one of us, the surviving Trustmaker may remove any
Trustee with or without cause. If the surviving Trustmaker is incapacitated,
a Trustee may be removed only for cause, and only if the removal is
approved by a court of competent jurisdiction upon the petition of an
interested party.
After both of our deaths, a Trustee may be removed only for cause, and only
if the removal is approved by a court of competent jurisdiction upon the
petition of any beneficiary. If the office of Trustee of a trust created under
this instrument is vacant and no designated successor Trustee is able and
willing to act as Trustee, any beneficiary may petition a court of competent
jurisdiction to name a successor Trustee to fill the vacancy. The court
petitioned to approve the removal of a Trustee will acquire jurisdiction over
the trust only to the extent necessary to approve or disapprove removal of
the Trustee.
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needed to obtain the physician’s written opinion of incapacity, or the trusteeship will be
terminated without the physician’s written opinion.
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Article Four
Administration of Our Trust During a Trustmaker’s
Incapacity
During any period when one of us is incapacitated, our Trustee shall make distributions
authorized in this Article from the community property and the incapacitated Trustmaker’s
separate property.
Section 4.02 Distributions for the Benefit of the Other Trustmaker and
Our Dependents
Our Trustee may distribute as much of the net income and principal as our Trustee
considers necessary for the health, education, maintenance or support of the non-
incapacitated Trustmaker. Our Trustee may also distribute as much of the net income and
principal as our Trustee considers necessary for the health, education, maintenance or
support of other persons that our Trustee determines to be dependent on the incapacitated
Trustmaker for support.
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A distribution made to a beneficiary under this Section will not be considered an
advancement, and will not be charged against the share of the beneficiary that may be
distributable under any other provision of this instrument.
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Article Five
Administration of Our Trust Upon the Death of a
Trustmaker
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Section 5.03 Excluding Life Insurance Proceeds from Creditors
Despite anything to the contrary in this instrument, any life insurance proceeds payable to
the Trustee under this instrument must never be or become part of our probate or
testamentary estate. Nothing in this instrument directs that these life insurance proceeds be
used to pay our debts or expenses.
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Article Six
Specific Distributions and Disposition of Tangible
Personal Property
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Trustee shall distribute property under this Article subject to all liens, security interests,
and other encumbrances on the property.
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Article Seven
The Survivor’s Trust
Our Trustee shall allocate the remaining deceased Trustmaker’s trust property to the
Survivor’s Trust.
Our Trustee shall administer the Survivor’s Trust as provided in this Article.
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Section 7.06 Administration following the Surviving Trustmaker’s Death
The Survivor’s Trust becomes irrevocable upon the death of the surviving Trustmaker, and
our Trustee shall administer the Survivor’s Trust consistent with the provisions of Article
Five for administration following the death of the first of us to die.
Upon completion of the administrative tasks, our Trustee shall administer the unappointed
balance or remainder of the Survivor’s Trust as provided in Article Eight.
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Article Eight
Distribution to Our Descendants
Our Trustee shall distribute our remaining property outright and free of trust to our
descendants, by representation. If a share is to be distributed to an incapacitated
beneficiary or a beneficiary under the age of 21, our Trustee shall hold or distribute the
share as provided in Article Ten.
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Article Nine
Remote Contingent Distribution
If at any time no person or entity is qualified to receive final distribution of any part of our
trust estate, this portion of our trust estate must be distributed one-half to those persons
who would inherit it had First Name Last Name then died intestate owning this property,
and one-half to those persons who would inherit it had Wife First Name Last Name then
died intestate owning this property. This distribution will be as determined and
proportioned under the laws of California then in effect.
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Article Ten
Distributions to Underage and Incapacitated
Beneficiaries
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governmental assistance programs, and not to supplant any benefits of this
kind. All actions of our Trustee shall be directed toward carrying out this
intent, and our Trustee’s discretion granted under this instrument to carry
out this intent is sole, absolute, and unreviewable.
For purposes of determining the beneficiary’s eligibility for any of these
benefits, no part of the trust estate’s principal or undistributed income will
be considered available to the beneficiary for public benefit purposes. The
beneficiary must not be considered to have access to the trust’s principal or
income, or to have ownership, right, authority, or power to convert any asset
into cash for his or her own use.
Our Trustee shall hold, administer, and distribute all property allocated to
this trust for the exclusive benefit of the beneficiary during his or her
lifetime. All distributions from this trust share are in the sole, absolute, and
unreviewable discretion of our Trustee, and the beneficiary is legally
restricted from demanding trust assets for his or her support and
maintenance.
In the event our Trustee is requested to release principal or income of the
trust to or on behalf of the beneficiary to pay for equipment, medication, or
services that any government agency is authorized to provide, or to petition
a court or any other administrative agency for the release of trust principal
or income for this purpose, our Trustee is authorized to deny this request
and to take whatever administrative or judicial steps are necessary to
continue the beneficiary’s eligibility for benefits. This includes obtaining
legal advice about the beneficiary’s specific entitlement to public benefits
and obtaining instructions from a court of competent jurisdiction ruling that
neither the trust corpus nor the trust income is available to the beneficiary
for eligibility purposes. Any expenses incurred by our Trustee in this
regard, including reasonable attorney fees, will be a proper charge to the
trust estate.
(d) Distribution Guidelines
Our Trustee shall be responsible for determining what discretionary
distributions will be made from this trust. Our Trustee may distribute
discretionary amounts of income and principal to or for the benefit of the
beneficiary for those special needs not otherwise provided by governmental
financial assistance and benefits, or by the providers of services. Any
undistributed income will be added to principal. In making distributions,
our Trustee must:
consider any other known income or resources of the
beneficiary that are reasonably available;
consider all entitlement benefits from any government
agency, including Social Security disability payments,
Medicare, Medicaid (or any state Medicaid program
equivalent), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), In-Home
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Support Service (IHSS), and any other special purpose
benefits for which the beneficiary is eligible;
consider resource and income limitations of any assistance
program;
make expenditures so that the beneficiary’s standard of
living will be comfortable and enjoyable;
not be obligated or compelled to make specific payments;
not pay or reimburse any amounts to any governmental
agency or department, unless proper demand is made by this
governmental agency or reimbursement is required by the
state; and
not be liable for any loss of benefits.
(e) No Seeking of Order to Distribute
For purposes of determining the beneficiary’s state Medicaid program
equivalent eligibility, no part of the trust estate’s principal or undistributed
income may be considered available to the beneficiary. Our Trustee shall
deny any request by the beneficiary to:
release trust principal or income to or on behalf of the
beneficiary to pay for equipment, medication, or services
that the state Medicaid program equivalent would provide if
the trust did not exist; or
petition a court or any other administrative agency for the
release of trust principal or income for this purpose.
In its sole, absolute, and unreviewable discretion, our Trustee may take
necessary administrative or legal steps to protect the beneficiary’s state
Medicaid program equivalent eligibility. This includes obtaining a ruling
from a court of competent jurisdiction that the trust principal is not available
to the beneficiary for purposes of determining state Medicaid program
equivalent eligibility. Expenses for this action, including reasonable
attorney fees, will be a proper charge to the trust estate.
(f) Indemnification of Trustee When Acting in Good Faith
Our Trustee will be indemnified from the trust property for any loss or
reduction of public benefits sustained by the beneficiary as a result of our
Trustee exercising the authority granted to our Trustee under this Section in
good faith.
(g) Distribution upon the Death of the Beneficiary
Upon the beneficiary’s death, our Trustee shall distribute or retain the
remaining property according to the other provisions of this trust as though
the provisions of this Section 10.01 had not been effective. If the other
provisions of this trust provide for the beneficiary’s share to be held in trust,
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then those provisions will be interpreted as though the beneficiary died after
the establishment of that trust.
If the other provisions of this trust do not provide for the distribution or
retention of the remaining property, then the beneficiary will have the
testamentary limited power to appoint all or any portion of the principal and
undistributed income remaining in the beneficiary’s trust at his or her death
among one or more persons or entities. But the beneficiary may not exercise
this limited power of appointment to appoint to himself or herself, his or her
estate, his or her creditors or the creditors of his or her estate.
We intend to create a limited power of appointment and not a general power
of appointment as defined in Internal Revenue Code Section 2041.
If any part of the beneficiary’s trust is not effectively appointed, our Trustee
shall distribute the remaining unappointed balance by representation to the
beneficiary’s descendants. If the beneficiary has no then-living
descendants, our Trustee shall distribute the unappointed balance by
representation to the then-living descendants of the beneficiary’s nearest
lineal ancestor who was a descendant of ours or, if there is no then-living
descendant, by representation to our descendants.
If we have no then-living descendants, our Trustee shall distribute the
balance of the trust property as provided in Article Nine.
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Our Trustee may distribute trust property to other persons and entities for
the beneficiary’s use and benefit.
Our Trustee may distribute trust property to an agent or attorney in fact
authorized to act for the beneficiary under a valid durable power of attorney
executed by the beneficiary before becoming incapacitated.
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beneficiary’s descendants. If the beneficiary has no then-living
descendants, our Trustee shall distribute the unappointed balance by
representation to the then-living descendants of the beneficiary’s nearest
lineal ancestor who was a descendant of ours or, if there is no then-living
descendant, by representation to our descendants.
If we have no then-living descendants, our Trustee shall distribute the
balance of the trust property as provided in Article Nine.
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Article Eleven
Trust Administration and Trustee Powers
The terms of this trust prevail over any provision of California law, except those provisions
that are mandatory and may not be waived.
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Section 11.05 Delegation of Trustee Authority
Any Trustee may delegate the right to exercise any power granted to our Trustee in this
instrument to any other Trustee by a written instrument. During the time a delegation under
this Section is in effect, the Trustee to whom the delegation was made may exercise the
power to the same extent as if the delegating Trustee had personally joined in the exercise
of the power. The delegating Trustee may revoke the delegation at any time by giving
written notice of revocation to the Trustee to whom the power was delegated.
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appointment may grant further powers of appointment to any person to whom principal
may be appointed, including a presently exercisable limited or general power of
appointment.
Our Trustee may conclusively presume that any power of appointment granted to any
beneficiary of a trust created under this instrument has not been exercised by the
beneficiary if our Trustee has no knowledge of the existence of a valid Will exercising the
power within three months after the beneficiary’s death.
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Subject to the trust terms, our Trustee may consider differences in federal tax attributes and
other pertinent factors in administering the trust property of any separate account or trust,
in making applicable tax elections, and in making distributions. A separate trust created
by severance must be treated as a separate trust for all purposes from the effective
severance date. But the effective severance date may be retroactive to a date before the
date on which our Trustee exercises the power.
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Article Twelve
General Provisions
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Section 12.04 Survivorship Presumption
If we die under circumstances in which the order of our deaths cannot be established, each
of us will be considered to have predeceased the other and each Trustmaker’s interest in
any community property of our trust, and each Trustmaker’s separate trust property will be
administered as provided in Section 7.06 for administering the remaining property in the
Survivor’s Trust upon death of the surviving Trustmaker.
If any other beneficiary is living at the death of a Trustmaker, but dies within 45 days after
the Trustmaker’s death, then the beneficiary will be considered to have predeceased the
Trustmaker for purposes of this trust.
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Section 12.08 Definitions
For purposes of this trust, the following terms have these meanings:
(a) Adopted and Afterborn Persons
A person in any generation who is legally adopted before reaching 18 years
of age and his or her descendants, including adopted descendants, have the
same rights and will be treated in the same manner under this trust as natural
children of the adopting parent. A person is considered legally adopted if
the adoption was legal at the time when and in the jurisdiction in which it
occurred.
A fetus in utero later born alive will be considered a person in being during
the period of gestation.
(b) By Representation
Whenever a distribution is to be made to a designated person’s descendants
by representation, the distribution will be divided into as many equal shares
as there are then-living descendants in the nearest degree of kinship and
then-deceased descendants in the same degree who left then-living
descendants. Each then living descendant in the nearest degree will receive
one share, and the share of each then deceased descendant in the same
degree will be divided among his or her descendants in the same manner.
(c) Descendants
The term descendants means persons who directly descend from a person,
such as children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren. The term
descendants does not include collateral descendants, such as nieces and
nephews.
(d) Good Faith
For the purposes of this trust, a Trustee has acted in good faith if:
an action or inaction is not a result of intentional
wrongdoing;
the Trustee did not make the decision to act or not act with
reckless indifference to the beneficiaries’ interests; and
an action or inaction does not result in an improper personal
benefit to the Trustee.
Further, all parties subject to the provisions of this trust will treat any action
or inaction made in reliance on information, consent, or directions received
from the Personal Representative of each of our estates as made in good
faith for the purposes of this Section, except for cases of willful misconduct
or malfeasance on the Trustee’s part.
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(e) Incapacity
Except as otherwise provided in this trust, a person is considered
incapacitated in any of the following circumstances.
(1) The Opinion of Two Licensed Physicians
An individual is considered to be incapacitated whenever
two licensed physicians give the opinion that the individual
is unable to effectively manage his or her property or
financial affairs, whether as a result of age; illness; use of
prescription medications, drugs, or other substances; or any
other cause. If an individual whose capacity is in question
refuses to provide necessary documentation or otherwise
submit to examination by licensed physicians, that
individual will be considered incapacitated.
An individual is considered restored to capacity whenever
the individual’s personal or attending physician provides a
written opinion that the individual is able to effectively
manage his or her property and financial affairs.
(2) Court Determination
An individual is considered incapacitated if a court of
competent jurisdiction has declared the individual to be
disabled, incompetent, or legally incapacitated.
(3) Detention, Disappearance, or Absence
An individual is considered to be incapacitated whenever he
or she cannot effectively manage his or her property or
financial affairs due to the individual’s unexplained
disappearance or absence for more than 30 days, or
whenever he or she is detained under duress.
An individual’s disappearance, absence, or detention under
duress may be established by an affidavit of our Trustee, or
by the affidavit of any beneficiary if no Trustee is then
serving. The affidavit must describe the circumstances of
the individual’s disappearance, absence, or detention, and
may be relied upon by any third party dealing in good faith
with our Trustee.
(f) Include, Includes, Including
In this document, the words include, includes, and including mean include
without limitation, includes without limitation and including without
limitation, respectively. Include, includes, and including are words of
illustration and enlargement, not words of limitation or exclusivity.
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(g) Income Beneficiary
The term Income Beneficiary means any beneficiary who is then entitled to
receive distributions of the trust’s net income, whether mandatory or
discretionary.
Unless otherwise provided in this trust, the phrase majority of the Income
Beneficiaries means any combination of Income Beneficiaries who would
receive more than 50% of the accrued net income if that income were
distributed on the day of a vote. For purposes of this calculation,
beneficiaries who are eligible to receive discretionary distributions of net
income receive the imputed income in equal shares.
References to a majority refer to a majority of the entire trust collectively
until our Trustee allocates property to separate trusts or trust shares. After
our Trustee allocates property to separate trusts or trust shares, references
to a majority refer to a majority of each separate trust or trust share.
(h) Independent Trustee
The term Independent Trustee means any Trustee who is not an Interested
Trustee as defined in Subsection (j) and includes an Independent Special
Trustee appointed under the provisions of Section 3.08.
(i) Instrument
The term this instrument means this trust, and includes all trusts created
under the terms of this trust.
(j) Interested Trustee
The term Interested Trustee means a Trustee who:
is a transferor or beneficiary;
is related or subordinate to a transferor or beneficiary;
can be removed and replaced by a transferor with either the
transferor or a party who is related or subordinate to the
transferor; or
can be removed and replaced by a beneficiary with either the
beneficiary or a party who is related or subordinate to the
beneficiary.
For purposes of this Subsection, transferor means a person who transferred
property to the trust during that person’s lifetime, including a person whose
disclaimer resulted in property passing to the trust. A person is only a
transferor during his or her lifetime. Beneficiary means a person who is or
may become eligible to receive income or principal from the trust under the
terms of the trust, even if this person has only a remote contingent remainder
interest in the trust, but not if the person’s only interest is as a potential
appointee under a power of appointment. Related or subordinate is used as
defined in Internal Revenue Code Section 672(c).
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(k) Internal Revenue Code and Treasury Regulations
Any references to a specific section of the Internal Revenue Code include
subsequent versions of sections that replace the specific sections as a result
of changes to the Internal Revenue Code after this date.
(l) Legal Representative or Personal Representative
As used in this trust document, the term Legal Representative or Personal
Representative means a person’s guardian, conservator, executor,
administrator, Trustee, attorney in fact under a Durable Power of Attorney,
or any other person or entity representing a person or the person’s estate. In
the case of a minor beneficiary, the beneficiary’s parent or another adult
with custody of the beneficiary, except for any transferor to a trust created
under this instrument, will be considered the beneficiary’s Legal
Representative for purposes of this trust.
(m) Primary Beneficiary
The Primary Beneficiary of a trust created under this trust is that trust’s
oldest Income Beneficiary, unless some other individual is specifically
designated as the Primary Beneficiary of that separate trust.
(n) Shall and May
Unless otherwise specifically provided in this trust or by the context in
which used, we use the word shall in this trust to impose a duty, command,
direct, or require, and the word may to allow or permit, but not require. In
the context of our Trustee, when we use the word shall we intend to impose
a fiduciary duty on our Trustee. When we use the word may we intend to
empower our Trustee to act with the Trustee’s sole and absolute discretion
unless otherwise stated in this trust. When we use the words may not in
reference to our Trustee, we specifically mean our Trustee is not permitted
to.
(o) Trust
The terms this trust, this document, instrument, and this trust document refer
to this trust and all trusts created under the terms of this trust.
(p) Trustee
The terms our Trustee and Trustee refer to the Initial Trustees named in
Article One and to any successor, substitute, replacement, or additional
person, corporation, or other entity that ever acts as the Trustee of any trust
created under the terms of this trust. The term Trustee refers to singular or
plural as the context may require.
(q) Trustmaker
Trustmaker has the same legal meaning as Grantor, Settlor, Trustor or any
other term referring to the maker of a trust.
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(r) Trust Property
The term trust property means all property acquired from any source and
held by a Trustee under this trust.
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(f) Severability
The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this trust does not
affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision of this trust. If a
court of competent jurisdiction determines that any provision is invalid, the
remaining provisions of this trust are to be interpreted as if the invalid
provision had never been included.
We have executed this trust on October 27, 2018. This trust instrument is effective when
signed by us, whether or not now signed by a Trustee.
A notary public or other officer completing this certificate verifies only the identity of the individual
who signed the document to which this certificate is attached, and not the truthfulness, accuracy, or
validity of that document.
State of California )
County of County )
On October 27, 2018 before me, Kira Wattenburg King, a Notary Public, personally
appeared First Name Last Name and Wife First Name Last Name, who proved to me on
the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) whose name(s) is/are subscribed to
the within instrument and acknowledged to me that he/she/they executed the same in
his/her/their authorized capacity(ies), and that by his/her/their signature(s) on the
instrument the person(s), or the entity upon behalf of which the person(s) acted, executed
the instrument.
I certify under PENALTY of PERJURY under the laws of the State of California that the
foregoing paragraph is true and correct.
WITNESS my hand and official seal.
Signature (Seal)
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Schedule C
Community Property
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Schedule T-1
First Name Last Name’s Separate Property
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Schedule T-2
Wife First Name Last Name’s Separate Property
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