Information About Removing a Trustee from Family Trust in California

Every family trust, and in fact every trust, nominates a trustee. The trustee's job is to manage the property in the trust for the benefit of the beneficiaries in the way the creator of the trust has asked. If you are a beneficiary of a family trust in California and you feel that the trustee is not doing the job that he was appointed to do according to the terms of the trust, you have the power to remove the trustee from that family trust.



First, the beneficiary should review the trust itself to see if the trust has provisions concerning removing the trustee without a court order. If the trust does have such language, this path is the quicker and cheaper way for removal of trustee from family trust in California.

Second, in the absence of provisions in the trust that allow the removal of trustee without court involvement, the beneficiary can file a petition with the superior court in the county where the trust is being administered. According to Probate Code Section 15642, the Court can order the removal of trustee from family trust in California for any of the following reasons:

• Breach of trust;
• Trustee has more debts than assets or is otherwise unfit to act as trustee;
• The trust cannot be administered because of hostility or lack of cooperation between co- trustees;
• The trustee does not wish to serve as trustee;
• The trustee's payment is excessive;
• The law automatically disqualifies some people from serving as a sole trustee. The people who cannot serve as a sole trustee are listed in Probate Code Section 21360.

Third, once a trustee provides the beneficiary with a report, the beneficiary has three years from the date of receiving the trustee's report to ask the Court for a removal of trustee from family trust in the state of California for any causes for removal that might be revealed by the report.

Tucker Cheadle has acted as a fiduciary, trustee, executor, and administrator on more than 70 trusts and wills. Cheadle Law continues working with clients year over year because of the skill and expert handling of all trust matters including tax returns, administrating rights for beneficiaries, and overall management of the clients' trust.

With over 30 years experience, Tucker Cheadle and his team of accountants and paralegals will help protect your rights as an estate trust beneficiary. Call Tucker Cheadle at 949-553-1066. He will go over your options, and help you get clarity to make wise future decisions about your estate trust.