Trust review fee helps offset cost of required attorney review

STOCK TRANSFER

Trust reviews are conducted strictly in accordance with GRF policy and California law. Trusts are legal documents that often contain complex provisions affecting ownership and authority rights. Because of these intricacies, all trusts involved in a stock transfer must be reviewed by GRF’ s trust attorney to ensure compliance and protect all parties involved.

Stock Transfer Team members are not attorneys and are not permitted to interpret trust documents. For this reason, GRF policy requires an independent legal review before any transfer of stock ownership involving a trust—whether due to a sale or an in-house transfer— can proceed. Per GRF Rule 14-5062-2 (Residency and Trust Property Use Fees) and California Probate Code §18100.5, GRF is authorized to require a Certifi cation of Trust or a copy of the trust document for legal review. The Stock Transfer Office cannot process a trust-related transfer until the GRF trust attorney has completed the review and issued written authorization to proceed.

The $150 trust review fee covers the attorney’s review as well as GRF’ s pro-rated staff time. If the documents submitted are incomplete or insufficient to validate the trust, additional reviews may be required, each subject to the applicable fee, until all necessary information is provided.

These procedures help ensure lawful transfers, protect shareholders, and maintain the integrity of GRF’ s ownership records.

Per the GRF Rule 145062-2 Residency and Trust Property Use Fees: 7. Legal Review Fees: Reviews of Trusts: Upon a Trust’s requested transfer of stock ownership, either by the unit’s sale or an in-house ownership transfer, Probate Code §18100.5 delegates to GRF the right to require the current acting trustee or successor trustee to provide the Stock Transfer Office either a Certification of Trust or a copy of the Trust document for the GRF trust attorney to review.

7.1.1. The Stock Transfer Offi ce shall not proceed with any sale or transfer of ownership via a trust document prior to the GRF trust attorney reviewing the trust and providing in writing a letter of release allowing the Stock Transfer Office to proceed.

7.1.2. At the time of the trust review, the trustee or successor trustee shall be assessed a fee of one hundred fifty dollars ($150) representing the attorney’s fee and GRF’ s pro-rated staff time.

7.1.3. If trust documents initially submitted fail to include information necessary to validate the trust, the trustee or successor trustee will be assessed an additional fee of seventy-five dollars ($75) for the second review and again for any subsequent attorney reviews. The reexamination of a trust will not begin until the additional fee is paid.