Successor Trustee Duties in California

If someone named you successor trustee, you are the person now in charge of their trust after their death. You gather what they owned, pay what they owed, notify the right people, and hand out what is left the way the trust says. The single most time-sensitive duty is to serve a written notification on every beneficiary and on the deceased person’s heirs within 60 days of the death (Prob. Code §16061.7); that notice starts a 120-day clock during which anyone can contest the trust (current as of 2026). You do not have to know how to do all of this today. You have to take a few careful first steps and not sign anything you do not understand.

The short version: secure the house, order more death certificates than you think you need, find the trust and every amendment, then send the §16061.7 notice because that one has a clock on it. Everything after that is paperwork, patience, and getting advice before you move money.

What a successor trustee is, and what it is not

You are not the owner of any of this. You hold it and hand it out under the rules in the document, and California law gives you specific duties while you do:

• Take control of and preserve the assets. You must take reasonable steps to take and keep control of the trust property (Prob. Code §16006): secure the home, keep insurance in force, and stop anyone from carrying things off.
• Act solely in the beneficiaries’ interest. The duty of loyalty means you administer the trust solely for the beneficiaries, not for yourself (Prob. Code §16002).
• Keep beneficiaries reasonably informed. You must keep the beneficiaries reasonably informed of the trust and its administration (Prob. Code §16060).
• Account at least annually. You must account to the beneficiaries entitled to current income or principal at least once a year, at termination, and on a change of trustee (Prob. Code §16062).

You are also not an executor, and the difference matters. A trustee runs a trust. An executor runs a will through probate: the public court process after death when there is no trust holding the property. If everything was titled in the trust, you may never see the inside of a courtroom.

The 60-day notice that starts the contest clock

When the settlor of a revocable trust dies, the trust becomes irrevocable and you must serve the notification by trustee under Prob. Code §16061.7 within 60 days. It goes not only to the named beneficiaries but to the deceased settlor’s heirs at law: a point many DIY trustees miss. The notice has required contents (the settlor’s identity and the trust’s execution date, each trustee’s name and address, the principal place of administration, and the recipient’s right to request a full copy of the trust terms) and a mandatory warning.

That warning matters because the notice triggers the 120-day contest window under Prob. Code §16061.8: no one served may bring an action to contest the trust more than 120 days after the notice is served, or 60 days after they are delivered a copy of the trust terms during that window, whichever is later. If you never serve the §16061.7 notice, that 120-day bar never starts to run: leaving the trust exposed to a contest indefinitely. This is why serving it correctly and on time is the first thing a lawyer takes off your plate.

Your first 90 days as successor trustee

1. Secure the home and property. Lock it up, keep homeowner’s insurance in force, and do not let anyone remove things, even relatives who say they were promised something (this is your §16006 duty to preserve).
2. Order at least ten certified death certificates from the county. Every bank, brokerage, and title company will want an original.
3. Find the trust document and every amendment and restatement. The version that controls is the most recent valid one, so you need all of them.
4. Read the trust to confirm you are the named successor trustee and that the prior trustee has died or stepped down. That is what gives you authority to act.
5. Make a list of every asset: real estate, bank and brokerage accounts, retirement accounts, life insurance, vehicles. Watch the mail for a month: statements surface things.
6. Find out how each asset is titled. An account in the trust’s name passes under the trust. An account in the person’s own name may not.
7. Serve the Prob. Code §16061.7 notice on all beneficiaries and the deceased person’s heirs, within 60 days of death.
8. Open a trust bank account using the trust’s tax ID number so you never mix trust money with your own.
9. Get date-of-death values for the real estate and the investment accounts.
10. Pay only what you clearly have authority to pay: mortgage, insurance, utilities to protect the house, reasonable funeral costs. Debts and taxes come before distributions.
11. Keep a running file of what came in, what went out, and why. Beneficiaries are entitled to an accounting (§16062), and a clean file is your protection.
12. Talk to an attorney before you retitle property, sell the house, or write a check to a beneficiary.

Does a successor trustee have access to the bank accounts?

Yes, but only to accounts titled in the trust’s name, and only after the bank formally recognizes you as the acting trustee. Being named in the trust isn’t enough on its own. The bank will want a certified death certificate, the trust document or a Certification of Trust (a short summary that proves your authority without exposing the whole document), and your photo ID. Once you’re set up, you typically open a trust bank account under the trust’s tax ID and run everything through it.

Accounts held in the person’s own name, with no trust and no payable-on-death beneficiary, are a different animal. Those aren’t trust assets, and you may need a small-estate procedure or another path to reach them. This is the most common surprise: the trust was signed, but an account or two never got moved into it. Run everything through the trust’s account and never through your personal account. The moment trust money touches your own checking account, you’ve created a problem.

When the house was never put in the trust

This is the most common broken thing. A trust only avoids probate for assets actually titled in it. People sign the trust, then never retitle the house, so at death it sits outside the trust in the person’s own name.

California has a faster fix than full probate. It is called a Heggstad petition. If the records show the person clearly meant the house to be in the trust, for example they listed it on the trust’s schedule of assets but never recorded the deed, a lawyer can ask the court to confirm the house belongs to the trust. It is a court petition, but usually far shorter and cheaper than opening a full probate.

When the estate qualifies for a simpler path

Not every estate needs the full process, and California’s limits changed recently, so use current numbers. If what is left outside the trust is personal property (no real estate) and is worth $208,850 or less, the heirs can often collect it with a small-estate affidavit rather than going to court. That figure applies for all deaths on or after April 1, 2025, and holds until the next adjustment on April 1, 2028 (Prob. Code §§890, 13100). And a deceased person’s primary residence worth up to $750,000 can pass through a simplified court petition rather than full probate (Prob. Code §13151). The residence petition is for the primary residence only, not a rental or second home.

The most common successor trustee mistakes

The most common mistakes are distributing money too early, missing the 60-day notice, mixing trust funds with your own, and paying debts in the wrong order. Each one is the kind of honest error a loving family member makes, and each one can land on you personally.

• Distributing too early. A beneficiary who gets paid before debts, taxes, and the contest window are handled can leave you short and exposed. You may have to claw money back, and good luck with that.
• Skipping or botching the §16061.7 notice. It keeps the contest window open indefinitely and signals you didn’t know the rules.
• Commingling funds. Keep the trust’s money in the trust’s account. Always.
• Paying the wrong debts, or paying them personally. Not every bill is a valid claim, and they don’t all get paid first. Confirm before you pay.

How long this really takes, and why it stalls

A straightforward trust administration in California often runs several months to a year. If part of it has to go through probate, expect roughly twelve to eighteen months (current as of 2026). What drags it out is rarely the law. It is the missing account statement, the beneficiary who will not return calls, the house that was never retitled, the tax return that has to clear. Most delays come from things being incomplete, not contested. Getting organized early is the biggest thing in your control.

Successor trustee FAQs

I’m the successor trustee and have no idea what I’m doing. Where do I start?

Start by securing the original documents and ordering certified death certificates, then read the trust before you move a single dollar. You don’t need to know the whole process on day one. Secure the originals, learn how each asset is titled, and send the required §16061.7 beneficiary notice within 60 days. Don’t pay debts out of your own pocket. When in doubt, slow down and get the trust reviewed.

What does a successor trustee actually have to do in California?

Take control of and preserve the trust’s assets (Prob. Code §16006), serve the §16061.7 notification on beneficiaries and heirs within 60 days, administer solely in the beneficiaries’ interest (§16002), keep them reasonably informed (§16060), account at least annually (§16062), pay valid debts and taxes, and then distribute what the trust directs. You act for the beneficiaries, not yourself, and keep trust money separate from your own throughout.

What does a successor trustee have to do after a parent dies in California?

The duties are the same whether the settlor was your parent or anyone else: collect and secure the trust’s assets, serve the beneficiary and heir notice under Prob. Code §16061.7 within 60 days of death, keep careful records, pay valid debts and taxes from trust funds, and distribute what’s left according to the trust. You’re a fiduciary, so you must act in the beneficiaries’ interest and keep your own money entirely separate from the trust’s.

What is the 60-day notice a trustee has to send?

It is the notification by trustee under Prob. Code §16061.7, which you must serve within 60 days of the settlor’s death on every beneficiary and on the deceased settlor’s heirs. It states who created the trust and when, who the trustees are, and the recipient’s right to request the trust terms. Serving it starts the 120-day contest window under §16061.8, if you skip it, that deadline never begins to run.

Does a successor trustee have access to the bank accounts?

Yes, but only to accounts titled in the trust’s name, and only after you prove you’re the acting trustee. The bank will want a certified death certificate, the trust or a Certification of Trust, and your ID. Accounts in the person’s own name with no trust and no payable-on-death beneficiary aren’t trust assets and may need a different process.

How long do beneficiaries have to contest the trust?

Once you serve the §16061.7 notice, a person served has 120 days to bring a contest, or 60 days from being delivered a copy of the trust terms during that window, whichever is later (Prob. Code §16061.8). This short, hard deadline is exactly why trustees serve the notice promptly. It closes the contest window and protects the distribution.

What are the most common successor trustee mistakes?

The most common mistakes are distributing money too early, missing the 60-day beneficiary notice, mixing trust funds with personal funds, and paying debts in the wrong order or out of your own pocket. Each can make you personally liable. The costliest errors happen in the first 60 days, before people realize a fiduciary clock is already running.

How long does it take to settle a trust in California?

A clean trust administration often takes several months to a year. If an asset has to go through probate, plan on roughly twelve to eighteen months (current as of 2026). Most of the delay comes from missing paperwork, slow beneficiaries, appraisals, and tax returns, not from the trust itself.

Can I administer the trust myself, or do I need a lawyer?

You can legally administer a California trust yourself, and for a small, simple estate with cooperative beneficiaries many people do. You’re more likely to need help when there’s real estate to transfer, a taxable estate, debts you’re unsure about, or family tension. Trustee’s fees and reasonable legal fees generally come from the trust, not your pocket, so help isn’t usually money out of your own savings.

Can I get paid as the trustee?

Usually yes. A trustee is paid as the trust document specifies (Prob. Code §15680); if the trust is silent, the trustee is entitled to reasonable compensation under the circumstances (§15681). There is no statutory percentage for trustees the way there is for a probate executor. Many family trustees take a modest fee or waive it, especially when they’re also a beneficiary, since trustee fees are taxable income to you while an inheritance generally isn’t. Keep careful records, take the fee in the right order relative to debts and distributions, and get advice so it is clean and defensible.

My sibling is the trustee and won’t share information or distribute. What are my rights?

As a beneficiary, you have the right to information about the trust and a reasonable accounting, and the trustee has a duty to keep you reasonably informed (Prob. Code §16060). A trustee who stonewalls or sits on distributions without a valid reason may be breaching that duty. Start by requesting the trust and an accounting in writing. If that goes nowhere, a probate attorney can tell you whether it’s worth pushing further.

Related reading: how trust administration works in California, fixing a house left out of the trust, settling a parent’s estate with a will but no trust, executor and trustee fees, Prop 19 and the inherited house, California’s small-estate shortcuts, and how to choose a trustee.

If you’re holding the trust binder and the death certificates and a list of people waiting on you, you don’t have to work out the order alone. I’ll read the trust, tell you what is actually a trust asset and what isn’t, make sure the §16061.7 notice goes out right, and lay out your next few steps in plain English. You don’t have to know what comes next. That part is mine.

Talk to Eric: a free 30-minute call. Bring the trust and the death certificate, and you’ll leave with your first three steps in order. Call (805) 244-5291, or book a time online. Ridley Law is in Port Hueneme and serves Ventura and Los Angeles Counties, plus the rest of California by phone and Zoom. (This is general information, not legal advice.)

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Written by Eric D. Ridley. Estate Planning Attorney at Ridley Law, serving Ventura County since 2010. Learn more about Eric →