The Successor Trustee’s First 90 Days | Ridley Law

What’s inside the guide

• The notices a new trustee is legally required to send, and who has to receive them
• The deadlines that come due in the opening months, laid out in the order they land
• The first practical moves to make once you’re named trustee, before anything else
• What “fiduciary” actually means once you accept the job, and where personal liability comes from
• How to structure the first 90 days so nothing gets missed while the estate settles

How soon does a successor trustee have to notify beneficiaries?

When a revocable trust becomes irrevocable, which typically happens at the grantor’s death, the trustee must send formal notice to all beneficiaries and legal heirs within 60 days. That notice, required under Probate Code § 16061.7, starts a 120-day window during which anyone entitled to contest the trust can do so, which is why getting it out correctly and on time matters from the first week.

Is there a hard deadline to finish administering a trust?

No. California sets no fixed statutory deadline for distributing trust assets, only a duty under Probate Code § 16000 to administer the trust according to its terms and within a reasonable time. As a practical matter, uncontested trust administrations commonly run about 6 to 18 months, though the right pace depends on the assets, the tax filings, and the beneficiaries involved.

Can a successor trustee actually be held personally responsible?

Yes. A trustee is a fiduciary who may not use trust property for personal benefit under Probate Code § 16004, and who owes beneficiaries duties that include regular accountings under Probate Code §§ 16060 through 16063. If a beneficiary believes those duties aren’t being met, they can petition the probate court under Probate Code § 17200 to compel an accounting, instruct the trustee, or, in serious cases, remove the trustee.

For the fuller picture of what trust administration involves start to finish, see our trust administration page.

Use the Successor Trustee Timeline Generator to enter the date of death and get a personalized schedule of every California deadline you need to hit.

Your First 90 Days as Successor Trustee

Someone trusted you with this job, and it’s a real one. You’re a fiduciary now, which means the beneficiaries can hold you personally responsible. Here’s what that means, what comes due, and how to do it without losing sleep.

The one thing

You’re a fiduciary now. That’s a legal duty to put the beneficiaries ahead of yourself, and if you get it wrong, they can sue you personally. The calendar started at the death, not when you feel ready. The good news: do a few things in the right order and it’s manageable, and you pay the professionals from the trust, not your own pocket.

First decision: you can say no

Before anything else, know that accepting the job is a choice. If you’re not able or willing to serve, you can decline, and the trust names a backup for exactly this reason. Don’t take it on out of guilt and then do it poorly. That helps no one.

If you do accept, act like it from day one. Once you start handling trust assets, you’ve accepted the role and the duties that come with it. So either step in fully or step aside cleanly. There’s no useful middle.

The first deadline: the 60-day notice

When the trust becomes irrevocable at the death, you owe a written notification to the beneficiaries and to the decedent’s heirs. It has to go out within 60 days (Prob. Code, § 16061.7). This is not optional and it’s not a formality.

The notice tells recipients the trust exists, identifies you and how to reach you, and lets them request a copy of the trust. It also has to warn them, in the statute’s language, that they have 120 days from the notice to bring a contest (Prob. Code, § 16061.8). Serving it correctly and on time is what starts that clock and eventually closes the window. Skip it, and the window can stay open far longer. This is the first thing I’d want a new trustee to get right, so get help with it if you’re unsure.

The work itself: marshal the assets

1. Get an EIN for the trust. The trust is now its own taxpayer. You’ll apply for an Employer Identification Number so accounts and tax reporting can run under the trust rather than the decedent’s Social Security number.
2. Retitle assets to yourself as trustee. Accounts and property held in the trust get moved into your name as successor trustee. For real property, that usually means recording an affidavit of death and confirming how title reads.
3. Pin down date-of-death values. Get date-of-death values and, for real property and unique assets, appraisals. These set the new income tax basis and anchor any later accounting. Guessing here causes problems down the road, so this is where an appraiser earns their fee.
4. Keep records from minute one. Open a dedicated file. Every dollar in and out, every decision, every professional you hire. Good records are what protect you if a beneficiary ever questions what you did.

What you owe: your duties, in plain English

• Loyalty: act for the beneficiaries, not yourself (Prob. Code, § 16002)
• No self-dealing: don’t buy from, sell to, or lend to the trust for your own benefit (Prob. Code, § 16004)
• Impartiality: treat the income beneficiaries and the remainder beneficiaries fairly, even when their interests pull in different directions (Prob. Code, § 16003)
• Prudence and records: manage the assets carefully and keep the beneficiaries reasonably informed (Prob. Code, §§ 16000, 16060)
• Accountings: account to the beneficiaries at least annually and at the end, unless the trust or the beneficiaries properly waive it (Prob. Code, § 16062)

The order that matters: debts and taxes come before beneficiaries

Here’s a mistake that lands trustees in personal trouble: paying out to beneficiaries before the trust’s debts and taxes are handled. If you distribute first and there isn’t enough left to cover what the trust owes, you can be on the hook for the shortfall yourself.

So the order is settle first, distribute last. Identify the debts, deal with final taxes, hold back a reasonable reserve, and only then distribute. If a beneficiary is pushing you to hand out money early, that pressure is exactly what the rule protects you from. It’s fine to tell them the law won’t let you yet.

Trustee versus executor

The 90-day milestone tracker

When to get help: you don’t have to do this alone

A lawyer for the notice and the legal steps, a CPA for the trust’s tax returns, and an appraiser for date-of-death values. You hire them, and they’re paid from the trust as a cost of administration, not out of your own money.

Forgive me for being blunt, but it’s my job: trying to save the trust a few dollars by winging the parts you don’t understand is how trustees end up personally liable. Getting the right help is the frugal choice, not the expensive one.

The clocks and the trap

• 60 days: serve the section 16061.7 notice on all required recipients. Don’t let this one slip
• 120 days: the contest window that notice opens. Timely, correct service is what starts and ends it (Prob. Code, § 16061.8)
• Don’t distribute early. Debts and taxes come first, and distributing before they’re covered can make you personally liable for the gap

Your first 90 days, in order

1. Decide, then commit. Accept or decline. If you accept, gather the trust, the death certificates, and a list of what you know the trust holds.
2. Serve the notice. Get the section 16061.7 notice out within 60 days. This is the deadline that matters most, so get help if you need it.
3. Marshal and value the assets. Get the EIN, retitle to yourself as trustee, and lock in date-of-death values and appraisals.
4. Settle before you distribute. Handle debts and taxes, hold a reserve, keep clean records, and distribute only when it’s safe to do so.

This is general information about California law, not legal advice, and reading it doesn’t make you a client. Deadlines and duties can turn on the specific terms of the trust and the facts of the estate, so confirm them before relying on them. Federal and trust tax questions belong with your CPA.

Sources

• Prob. Code, § 16000 (duty to administer the trust); § 16002 (duty of loyalty); § 16003 (duty of impartiality between beneficiaries)
• Prob. Code, § 16004 (duty to avoid conflicts of interest and self-dealing)
• Prob. Code, § 16060 (duty to keep beneficiaries reasonably informed)
• Prob. Code, § 16061.7 (notification by trustee; 60-day deadline); § 16061.8 (120-day period to contest the trust)
• Prob. Code, § 16062 (duty to account to beneficiaries at least annually and at termination)
• Prob. Code, § 15681 (trustee’s right to reasonable compensation)

Want this guide as a PDF?

Get the full 90-day guide, including the trustee-versus-executor comparison, in one document you can save or print.

Successor trustee duties checklist

If you’re still deciding whether to accept the role, or you want the full timeline of what’s ahead, see the successor trustee guide and run your dates through the successor trustee timeline generator. If an asset was left out of the trust, the Heggstad petition page covers the fix.

Talk to Eric