California Trust Notification Requirements

North Hills Trust Administration Attorney Can Help You with Estate Planning and Administering a Trust

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When a trustee first steps into the position of overseeing and administering a trust, one of the first things he will have to do will be to notify the beneficiaries of the trust. In California, there are strict timeframes within which these notices must be sent out, and the notices themselves must include some specific information regarding the trust.

If a new trustee doesn’t meet the California trust notification requirements fully, he runs the risk of breaching his fiduciary duties and possibly having to deal with some serious legal action being taken against him.

At the Law Offices of Darrell C. Harriman, I am thoroughly knowledgeable about all California trust notification requirements, and am skilled at assisting trustees in complying with them. When trustees rely on me to represent them, they can count on receiving superior representation for all of their trust administration needs.

California Trust Notification Requirements: Notifying Trust Beneficiaries

Under California law, trustees are required to formally notify the beneficiaries of a trust when any significant changes to the trust have transpired. Specifically, these trust notification requirements can come into play when:

• Someone passes away and, upon death, a new trust is formed by the terms of a will.
• A revocable living trust becomes an irrevocable trust (because the settlor of the trust has passed away).

When sending notices to beneficiaries, here’s what trustees should generally be aware of:

• A notice regarding the trust and the beginning of the trust administration period must be sent to all of the people named as beneficiaries of the trust.
• These notices must be sent out within 60 days of the date of the death that caused the change in the trust or initiated the trust administration period.
• A standard legal warning must be included with each mailed notice.
• A complete copy of the terms of the trust must be sent to any and all beneficiaries who request it.

After Meeting the Trust Notification Requirements in California: What Happens Next?

Once a trustee has satisfied this first critical step of the trust administration process, the beneficiaries of the trust will have an opportunity to challenge the validity of any part of the trust for a distinct period of time. In fact, beneficiaries will have 120 days from the date of the trust notice (or 60 days from the date on which they received this notice) to raise any issues they may have with a trust. This timeframe can extend to as long as four years if notices are not sent to beneficiaries of the trust.

If a beneficiary does raise any challenges to a trust, then these issues will need to be resolved before the rest of the trust administration process can proceed. If, however, no challenges are raised during this period, then:

• Beneficiaries will lose their opportunity to contest the trust later.
• The trustee can proceed with his trust administration duties.