Individuals who act as administrators of wills and trusts in California have a fiduciary duty to the beneficiaries of those wills or trusts. If they were to breach that fiduciary duty, they could face legal sanctions such as removal from responsibility for the will or trust and be ordered to pay damages to beneficiaries they […]
Every Trust has written direction to the Trustee that sets forth how the Trust assets must be distributed to the Trust beneficiaries. Sometimes the assets are set to pass “outright and free of trust.” That just means the beneficiaries receive the assets in their own name. For example, if the Trust has 100 shares of […]
If you are a beneficiary of a Trust in California, you have legal rights. Below is a list of some of a California Trust beneficiary’s basic rights. Obtain Copies of Trust Documents Trust beneficiaries are entitled to receive copies of the Trust documents. Beneficiaries should receive copies of the Trust when either: The Trust (or […]
Suppose you have fought a long, hard fight in court and taken your Trustee all the way to trial. You win the trial, obtain a court order, and now the Trustee refuses to comply with the terms of the court order. What do you do? There are several options you must enforce a court order […]
How do you hire an attorney when you need help dealing with a bad Trustee? Trustees have access to all the Trust resources, while beneficiaries do not. As a beneficiary, you cannot withdraw money from a Trust bank account to pay for legal services. So what are you to do? You have two choices: (1) […]
There’s a lot beneficiaries can do to set things right, but it’s not as easy as you may think. Often beneficiaries will say “isn’t the Trustee breaking the law?” The answer is yes, but who is going to stand up and hold the Trustee responsible for breaking his or her duties as a Trustee? The […]
When you have a trustee who’s also a beneficiary, there’s an inherent potential conflict of interest. A trustee is a person who’s going to make all of the management decisions for the Trust. For example, the trustee may decide to sell an asset or to keep an asset, but that decision will have an effect […]
If you are filing a lawsuit pertaining to an inheritance under a Trust or Will in California there are deadlines that must be followed. These deadlines are called statutes of limitation. A statute is a written law passed by the legislature. A statute of limitations is a law prescribing a time deadline for bringing each […]
How long should you wait for a Trust accounting? After the Trust creators (also called “Settlors”) pass away, beneficiaries can expect to wait between six months to one year for an accounting from the Trustee. The time frame depends on the nature of the assets and the terms of the Trust. A Trust accounting is […]
Some Trustees ask beneficiaries to sign a waiver of accounting before making Trust distributions. Occasionally, if there are multiple beneficiaries, some of the beneficiaries may be happy to waive a formal accounting, while one beneficiary refuses. What happens if one of the beneficiaries refuses to sign a waiver of accounting? If one beneficiary refuses to […]
