Does a beneficiary have to sign a release? Under Probate Code section 16004.5, a Trustee cannot require a beneficiary to sign a release in exchange for making a distribution of Trust assets, provided that the Trust distribution is required to be made as stated in the Trust document. For example, if you are entitled to […]
If you have a bad Trustee who mismanaged assets, misappropriated them, or just stole them, you may be wondering how to find the money. That is a good question, and not always easy to answer. Of course, much depends on how the money was taken, or whether the money was ever part of the Trust to begin […]
There are a few exceptions to a Trustee’s duty to provide you with a Trust accounting no matter what type of beneficiary you happen to be. Where the Trust Document Waives an Accounting. If the Trust document waives an accounting, then a Trustee does not have to provide an accounting. This is an important exception, so […]
You are entitled to an accounting…maybe…depends. The truth is some beneficiaries are entitled to an accounting as a matter of right, while other beneficiaries may obtain an accounting at the discretion of the Court, but not as a matter of right. Right to Reasonable Information For starters, all beneficiaries are entitled to reasonable information from the […]
Being named a successor Trustee does not necessarily obligate you to take action. While it is true that Trustees have a host of duties and responsibilities, those duties don’t arise until a Trustee agrees to act. Being named a successor Trustee in a Trust document does not obligate that person to act. If, however, the successor Trustee either […]
Unique Nature of Trust Ownership It all comes down to the unique nature of Trusts. When a person creates a Trust they are effectively separating the legal ownership from the beneficial ownership of the assets. We don’t usually think about these two different aspects of ownership because, in every other context, they are one in the […]
So who is in charge of overseeing your Trustee if that person chooses to violate the law and breach his or her fiduciary duties? Surely there is some governmental agency that will step in and hold that bad Trustee accountable…isn’t there? The truth is that there is no governmental authority that oversees that acts of […]
In its simplest form, a Trust is merely the holding of money by a person for the benefit of someone else. When a friend hands you his wallet until he gets back, a Trust is formed. Trust Funding: The Essential Step Trusts cannot be formed without property transferring from the hands of the owner to […]
The key to any fiduciary relationship (such as being a Trustee, Executor, Conservator, Agent, etc.) is to avoid conflicts of interest. A fiduciary is supposed to do the right thing in all situations. And that cannot be accomplished if the fiduciary is taking advantage of his situation. For example, if a Trustee is buying an […]
Under California Probate Code section 15800, a Trustee of a revocable Trust only owes duties to the person who has the power to revoke, so long as that person is living and has capacity. That means if you are the beneficiary under a revocable Trust, you do not have the rights normally given to Trust […]
