Ask 2 Lawyers: Trustees Who Refuse to Communicate

What would be the best way to deal with the trustee who just won't communicate with me essentially you've got to move out quickly you've got a ask for an accounting if they won't provide the accounting you've got to go to the petition the probate court and then the probate court will order them to account you'll have subpoena power you can get the underlying documents to cross-check their accounting to see if there is any problems and then I think you'll have the information you were looking for with the trustee was refusing to give you that information that they got at the I at the outset of the case I think where people get frustrated though is that you know let's say I'm a client Stewart and I'm asking you but isn't the trustee supposed to communicate with me and aren't they obligated to give me an accounting they are and that's the probate code says that a hundred percent you're gonna be able to get it it's just that most trustees don't know these rules and is there any way to enforce them outside of going to court because if the trustee is supposed to be doing these things and they're not doing it then there must be some way to force them to do this yeah they're the way you force them to do it is you go to court and so I think that you and I've talked about this in the past and that is if if I I you and I signed a contract for you to come and paint my house and I paid you $5,000 and I paid you to come paint my house three weeks from now when three weeks comes and you don't come paint my house I have a contract that says you must come paint my house I've paid you $5,000 I performed on my side of the contract you're not performing we call that a breach of contract that's them that's very similar to you being the trustee and me being the beneficiary in this case so I am owed some obligations under a document the trust that tells you what you're supposed to do with my assets you're choosing to ignore those terms for whatever reason you're choosing not to communicate with me when you have a fiduciary obligation under the probate code to communicate with me which includes providing accountings and you've decided not to do any of those things the only way I can enforce that the only way I can enforce you not to come paint my house but to get the five thousand dollars back because you've breached the contract is to go to court and it's unfortunate it's not in a and I you know in an ideal world we wouldn't have to go to court to remedy the wrongs that we face in life but unfortunately here your only remedy is to go to court so that's really the power the beneficiary has is to go to court and stand up for their rights and get the trustee to do what they're supposed to do that's right Albertson and Davidson is here to help you fight for your inheritance check out Alda law calm for our complete library of helpful legal videos and articles from your favorite California trusts and we'll litigation law firm Albertson and Davidson LLP.