Declaration of trust checklist

Read the document to make sure it meets your needs and that you’ve provided all of the necessary information about ownership of and payments for the property. Make sure that everybody involved agrees with the Declaration of Trust’s provisions. Remember that, if you have any questions, you can Ask a lawyer for advice.

This Declaration of Trust is a special type of document called a deed. Deeds must be executed (ie signed) in a certain way in order to be legally binding. To sign your Declaration of Trust, you should:

1. Print a copy of the Declaration of Trust for each owner.

2. All owners should sign each copy of the Declaration. Each signature must be witnessed. A witness should be: 

   1. not another party to the deed (ie not one of the other owners)

   2. independent and unconnected with the parties (eg not a family member)

   3. over 18 years of age, and 

   4. of sound mind

3. After watching an owner sign the deed, their witness should sign the deed and add their name, address, and occupation directly underneath the relevant owner’s signature.

4. Date the deed. Enter the date that the last owner signs the deed in the space provided at the top of the document.  

It is usually possible for deeds to be signed electronically, but if this is done, extra care must be taken to ensure that all of the execution formalities for the particular type of deed are met. This deed is, therefore, designed to be signed by hand (ie wet-signed) to ensure that it is correctly executed (eg witnessed). 

For more information, read Execution of deeds.

The owners should have this deed noted on the register at the Land Registry to provide proof of their rights to the property. They can record their interests by completing either: 

• Land Registry Form TR1, completing the declaration of trust panel, or

• Land Registry Form JO, which allows you to make a declaration of trust when time is short (eg between exchange and completion). 

An unsigned copy of your Declaration of Trust will be stored automatically in your Rocket Lawyer account ‘Dashboard’.

Each owner should make sure to securely store their signed copy of their Declaration of Trust. 

If you need to provide your Declaration of Trust to anyone in future, it’s good practice to use copies to keep your original safe. It’s best to use certified copies, ie copies that are confirmed as true copies of the original document by a qualified person (usually a solicitor). Certification can usually be provided by solicitors for a small fee. You can Ask a lawyer if you’d like certified copies of your Declaration of Trust.