Every abused trust beneficiary has the same nightmare: a trustee who refuses to follow the trust, refuses to communicate, and refuses to release the inheritance you’re entitled to receive. Unfortunately, this situation is far more common than most people realize — and it’s something we help clients with every day at Albertson & Davidson LLP, California’s leading trust litigation firm.
Below, we break down your legal rights, what a trustee can and cannot do, and how abused beneficiaries can force a trustee to act.
Can a Trustee Refuse to Pay a Beneficiary?
Sometimes — but only if the trust terms allow it.
A trustee’s job is to follow the written instructions in the trust. If the trust requires an outright distribution, or if you have a clear right to receive money or property, then the trustee must make that distribution. They cannot:
- Delay indefinitely
- Hold assets “hostage”
- Ignore your requests
- Invent their own conditions
- Pay themselves instead of the beneficiary
If a trustee refuses to distribute assets without legal justification, that is a breach of fiduciary duty — and you have the right to take action in court.
Can a Trustee Refuse to Provide an Accounting?
No. Under California law, trustees must provide beneficiaries with an accounting.
A trustee is legally required to be transparent. They cannot refuse to provide:
- A full trust accounting
- Bank statements or financial information
- A copy of the trust
- A breakdown of expenses and distributions
- Updates about the administration
If a trustee is refusing to communicate or hiding information, that is a major red flag. It often signals:
- Mismanagement
- Self-dealing
- Commingling of funds
- Failure to safeguard trust assets
Abused trust beneficiaries commonly tell us they’ve been ignored for months — even years. You do not have to tolerate this.
Why Abused Beneficiaries Shouldn’t Wait
We hear from hundreds of beneficiaries every month dealing with their own version of this horror story. The good news: you have real power. But you must use the court system to enforce your rights.
Judges in California are not sympathetic to trustees who violate the trust or hide information. When properly presented, the court can:
- Order the trustee to make the distribution
- Force the trustee to provide an accounting
- Suspend or remove the trustee
- Surcharge the trustee for losses
- Hold the trustee in contempt for disobeying the law
How to Stop an Abusive Trustee: Filing a Petition
If the trustee won’t do the right thing voluntarily, the next step is filing a Petition in probate court. This is how beneficiaries end the nightmare.
A petition can ask the judge to:
- Order immediate distribution
- Compel a full accounting
- Freeze trust accounts
- Remove the trustee
- Appoint a neutral, professional trustee
Once you file, the trustee must respond. If they refuse to respond, you win by default. If they do respond, the judge will order them to comply with their duties.
Either way: you get answers and action.
You Don’t Have to Face This Alone
If you’re an abused trust beneficiary dealing with:
- A trustee who won’t pay you
- A trustee who refuses to account
- A trustee who ignores your emails and calls
- A trustee acting in their own interest
- A trustee hiding financial information
…it’s time to stand up for your rights.
At Albertson & Davidson LLP, we represent abused beneficiaries across California — and we only handle trust and probate litigation. This is all we do.
You deserve transparency. You deserve your inheritance. And the law is on your side.
