Let’s say that you find out that you’re a beneficiary of a $3 million trust. There are three beneficiaries. You’re supposed to get a million dollars at the end of this. It’s a very happy, exciting day for you. You call the trustee’s attorney, and you say to the trustee’s attorney, “Hey, I have some questions for […]
From time to time, beneficiaries ask: What is my job as a beneficiary to get my beneficial interest under the trust? A distribution under the trust, in other words. The answer is that the beneficiary really doesn’t have a job. The beneficiary owes no duties to the trust, under law, or under the trust terms, […]
How are you going to pay for your lawsuit? Unfortunately, lawsuits in the modern age are very expensive. It costs a lot of money to hire a lawyer, to pay for all the discovery that you have to do, issue subpoenas, take depositions, hire expert witnesses, pay court filing fees. Everything costs time and money. […]
Once in a while, we do see trustees giving away money from a trust to people who aren’t actually named beneficiaries of the trust. To this day, I have no idea why they do it. Misappropriation of Trust Funds by Trustee The situations in which we normally see this is when the trustee is a […]
An irrevocable trust is a type of trust that is permanent meaning it cannot be changed once created. It is designed to give the grantor/settlor the ability to lower their estate taxable rate while giving to charity, heirs, and beneficiaries. Can a beneficiary be removed from a California irrevocable trust? California Probate Code §16060 protects the Beneficiary rights in […]
Can a trustee be removed as trustee of a trust? Yes, but it is difficult to remove a trustee. Generally, you must have an evidentiary hearing, which is a trial. It takes time to remove a Trustee. You must go through the litigation process from start to finish before a trial can take place. The […]
The duty of loyalty is one of the most basic, and important, trustee duties (Probate Code section 16002). At its core, the duty of loyalty requires the Trustee to administer the trust solely in the interest of the beneficiaries. That means the Trustee must do what is right for the beneficiaries in all situations. Duty of Loyalty […]
Can a trustee loan money to a trust? There are times when a Trust may be land-rich, but cash-poor. Or maybe the Trust owns a business, financial investments, or any other type of asset that cannot be easily sold. How does the Trustee pay bills and expenses when there is no cash to pay from? […]
If a trustee sells a trust asset, can you reverse that sale? The initial answer is no. Trustees are given the power, usually under the trust document but also under California trust law, to sell trust property at their choosing. And since Trustees have the power to sell trust assets, there is no way to […]
There are times when you know something has gone wrong with your Trust administration. Perhaps the Trustee is not making proper Trust investments, is not managing Trust assets properly, or is outright stealing from the Trust. At times, the harm caused by a Trustee can be less obvious, such as living in a home owned by […]
