If a lvng tst. is opened is the trustee the only authorized signer? Can he/she have additional people sign on their behalf w/o making the person a POA or supplying a letter designating him/her as an agent? My understanding is any additional signers are either POAs or the trustee supplies a letter which should specify what the responsibilities of the agent.

I'll take a stab at this, I am not an attorney and would definately recommend council input pertaining to trusts.

I would want to look at the trust to see who the authorized signers are, who has the authority to sign on behalf of the trust for lending activities etc. I do not think I would recommend POA when a trust is involved.

California Probate Code Section §16012 says:
16012. (a) The trustee has a duty not to delegate to others the performance of acts that the trustee can reasonably be required personally to perform and may not transfer the office of trustee to another person nor delegate the entire administration of the trust to a cotrustee or other person.
(b) In a case where a trustee has properly delegated a matter to an agent, cotrustee, or other person, the trustee has a duty to exercise general supervision over the person performing the delegated matter.
(c) This section does not apply to investment and management functions under Section 16052.

So, you can see that although it’s allowed, it’s discouraged. Counsel has advised us to make sure that we explain to the customer when the customer completes the Trust Certification, that they only put powers that the trust specifically allows.

If the trust so provides, a trustee can delegate ministerial duties to another person.
Your best approach is to get a certification of trust from the trustee. In that certification they can designate all who are authorized to sign for the trust. I do not recommend you review the trust and make these determinations because if you are wrong the bank is liable. You can rely on the trust certification UNLESS you go ahead and review the trust.

SJB -

Perhaps I should have clarified my comment when I mentioned reviewing the trust- you are correct to not review the trust, I was only referencing who is authorized to borrow on behalf of the trust etc.

Thanks