Successor Trustee Duties in California
Last updated: August 2026
If you have just learned you are the successor trustee of a family trust, you have sixty days to serve a formal notification on the beneficiaries and heirs — and most people in that position have never heard of it. Trust administration avoids probate court, which is why the trust was created, but it does not avoid legal duties. The trustee holds and manages someone else’s property, owes fiduciary obligations enforceable in court, and is personally liable for breaching them. Bay Legal, P.C. guides California successor trustees through administration from the first notification to final distribution.
Definition: A successor trustee is the person named in a trust to take over managing and distributing its assets when the original trustee dies or can no longer serve.
He clearly explained the Trust Administration process and put me at ease. He offered strategic advice and made me feel confident in my next step.
— Gloria G., Google review, July 2025. Attorney: Sivendra Ganesh Maraj.
This review reflects one client’s experience. Results depend on the facts and law of each individual case and do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in your matter.
What must you do in the first sixty days?
Serve the statutory notification. When a revocable trust becomes irrevocable on the settlor’s death, Probate Code section 16061.7 requires the trustee to serve a formal notification on every beneficiary of the trust and every heir of the deceased settlor within sixty days. It must contain specified content, including the settlor’s identity, the trustee’s name and address, and a statement of the recipient’s right to request a copy of the trust’s terms.
Two consequences follow, and they cut in opposite directions. Serving it correctly starts a limited period in which the trust can be contested — after which challenges are time-barred. Failing to serve it leaves that period open, which means a trust distributed years ago can still be attacked. The notification is therefore protective of the trustee, not merely an obligation imposed on them.
Alongside it, the first weeks involve obtaining death certificates, locating the original trust and any amendments, securing property and insurance, obtaining a tax identification number for the now-irrevocable trust, and identifying beneficiaries and their contact details.
What duties does a trustee owe?
Probate Code section 16000 and following sets them out. To administer the trust according to its terms. To act loyally in the beneficiaries’ interests and not the trustee’s own. To deal impartially where beneficiaries have competing interests. To keep trust property separate and clearly identified. To invest prudently. And to keep beneficiaries reasonably informed under section 16060.
Accountings are the duty most often neglected. Under Probate Code section 16062, a trustee must account to beneficiaries at least annually, on termination of the trust, and on a change of trustee, unless the trust instrument or the beneficiaries waive it. Poor record-keeping from day one makes this far harder than it needs to be, and an accounting reconstructed under pressure invites exactly the scrutiny a trustee wants to avoid.
A trustee who breaches these duties is personally liable for the resulting loss. A family member who accepted the role as a favour is held to the same standard as a professional fiduciary — the law does not discount for inexperience or good intentions.
Does the trust still owe debts and taxes?
Yes. Avoiding probate does not avoid creditors or the tax authorities. The trustee identifies and pays the settlor’s valid debts from trust assets, files the settlor’s final personal income tax returns, obtains a tax identification number and files fiduciary income tax returns for the trust, and files a federal estate tax return where the estate exceeds the federal exemption — $15 million per person for 2026.
Distributing to beneficiaries before debts and taxes are resolved is the trustee equivalent of an executor’s most expensive mistake, and it produces the same personal liability. Beneficiaries who are waiting will press for early distribution; the answer is a partial distribution with a reserve, not an early one.
Trust administration or probate — what actually differs?
| Trust administration | Probate | |
|---|---|---|
| Court supervision | None, unless a dispute arises | Throughout |
| Who acts | Successor trustee | Executor or administrator, once Letters issue |
| Public record | No | Yes — petitions, inventory, and accountings |
| Compensation | As the trust provides, or reasonable | Statutory percentage of the gross estate |
| Typical duration | Several months to a year | Twelve to eighteen months for a straightforward estate |
| Key early deadline | 60-day notification under § 16061.7 | Inventory within four months of Letters |
One estate frequently requires both. Assets that were never transferred into the trust pass under a pour-over will and go through probate, while trust assets are administered outside it. A trustee who is also the executor is running two processes at once with different rules, and confusing them is common.
What happens when beneficiaries disagree?
Trust disputes go to the probate department of the Superior Court by petition under Probate Code section 17200, which allows a trustee or beneficiary to bring almost any question about the internal affairs of a trust before the court — interpreting ambiguous terms, compelling an accounting, surcharging a trustee for losses, approving accounts, or modifying the trust.
A trustee may be removed under Probate Code section 15642 for breach of trust, unfitness, insolvency, hostility that impairs administration, or excessive compensation. Where beneficiaries are already in conflict, a trustee who documents decisions, communicates in writing, and accounts on time is in a very different position from one who does not.
Who advises trustees at Bay Legal?
Sivendra Ganesh Maraj leads estate planning and probate, including trust administration. Rachael Berg handles trust administration disputes and probate litigation, acting for trustees and for beneficiaries. Where a dispute becomes contested litigation, the firm’s litigation group supports it under managing attorney Jayson R. Elliott and lead litigation attorney Evan Livingstone.
The firm does not provide accounting or tax preparation and works alongside the trust’s CPA. Bay Legal, P.C. serves clients statewide from offices in Palo Alto and Los Angeles, including families across San Francisco and the wider Bay Area.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 60-day trustee notification?
When a revocable trust becomes irrevocable on the settlor’s death, Probate Code section 16061.7 requires the trustee to serve a formal notification on all beneficiaries and on the settlor’s heirs within sixty days. It must contain specified content. Serving it starts the limited period for contesting the trust; failing to serve it leaves that period open indefinitely.
Does a trust avoid probate entirely?
For assets actually held in the trust, yes. Anything the settlor owned outside the trust passes under a pour-over will and goes through probate, unless it qualifies for a small estate procedure. Many estates therefore run both processes at once, with different rules and different deadlines applying to each.
Can a successor trustee be held personally liable?
Yes. The role is fiduciary under Probate Code section 16000 and following. A trustee who self-deals, commingles trust property, distributes before debts and taxes are resolved, invests imprudently, or fails to account can be surcharged for the loss and removed under section 15642. Family members are held to the same standard as professionals.
Does a trustee have to provide accountings?
Generally yes. Probate Code section 16062 requires an accounting to beneficiaries at least annually, on termination, and on a change of trustee, unless the trust or the beneficiaries waive it. Keeping clean records from the first week makes this straightforward; reconstructing them later rarely does.
Do trustees get paid?
Usually. The trust instrument often specifies compensation, and where it does not the trustee is entitled to reasonable compensation. Unlike probate, there is no statutory percentage schedule. A family member serving as trustee sometimes waives it, and the fee is taxable income where taken.
How long does trust administration take?
Several months to about a year for a straightforward trust, which is faster than probate. Real property sales, tax filings, illiquid assets, or beneficiary disputes extend it. Trusts holding a business or property in more than one state take considerably longer.
Related Questions
Can I decline to serve as successor trustee?
Yes, by a written declination before you begin acting. The trust’s alternate then serves, or the court appoints a trustee on petition. Declining is far cleaner than resigning after you have started administering.
Do I need a lawyer to administer a trust?
Not legally, but the deadlines and the personal liability are real, and trustee’s legal fees are generally payable from trust assets rather than from your own funds. The sixty-day notification alone is worth getting right.
What if I cannot find the original trust document?
A copy may be admissible, but proving the terms is considerably harder and can end in a court petition. Tell your own successor trustee where the original is kept.
Can beneficiaries demand a copy of the trust?
Beneficiaries and the settlor’s heirs may request the trust’s terms, and the notification must tell them so. Refusing a proper request is one of the fastest ways to turn an administration into a dispute.
Talk to a California probate attorney
Most families call after a death, when the paperwork has already started arriving and nobody is sure whether court is required at all. That first question — whether this estate needs probate — is usually answerable quickly, and the answer shapes everything after it. To discuss an estate with a Bay Legal attorney, call the office nearest you or email intake.
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This page is general information about California law and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Bay Legal, P.C. does not provide tax advice. For advice on your specific situation, contact a licensed California attorney and a qualified tax professional.