Trust Administration in California: Help With a Job You Never Asked For

You did not ask for this job. Someone named you trustee. A sign of real trust, and a real weight. California law imposes significant duties on successor trustees, most of them with specific deadlines, most of them unknown to people who have never done this before. I help trustees carry the responsibility without losing the estate in the process. Miss one of those deadlines, the 60-day notice, the trust accounting, and a trustee can be held personally responsible, even sued by the very family members they’re trying to help. That’s the risk I keep off your shoulders.

Just inherited a trust? The checklist walks you through the first 90 days so you do not make an expensive mistake early.

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What California law requires of a trustee

When the person who created a revocable living trust dies, the successor trustee steps in to administer the estate. What comes next is not optional and not simple. Under the California Probate Code, the trustee must, within a defined period:

Notify all beneficiaries and legal heirs of the trust’s existence and their right to receive a copy (Probate Code § 16061.7)
Inventory and establish the value of all trust assets
Identify creditors and handle outstanding debts and expenses
File any required final income tax returns and, where applicable, an estate tax return
Prepare a formal accounting for beneficiaries
Distribute trust assets in accordance with the trust instrument

Each of those steps carries legal obligations. Miss a deadline or make the wrong move and the trustee can be held personally liable: to beneficiaries, to creditors, to the court. This is a position that rewards careful guidance and punishes improvisation.

If you are a trustee

I will walk you through every requirement. What you must do, in what order, on what timeline, and how to document it properly. I can manage the entire process on your behalf, or I can advise while you handle the administrative work yourself. Either way, you will not be guessing, and you will not be exposed.

Here’s how it works

One call: Eric triages your deadlines, starting with the 16061.7 notice clock.
A map: every duty, every date, every document, in order.
A clean close: assets distributed, accounting done, and you off the hook.

Most people serve as trustee once in their lives. I do this work regularly. There is no substitute for having someone in your corner who knows where the traps are before you step into them.

Running a special needs trust? The rules are different, and the stakes include the beneficiary’s SSI and Medi-Cal. My free guide, How to Administer a California Special Needs Trust, walks through the spending rules, the paperwork, and the calendar step by step.

If you are a beneficiary

Beneficiaries have real rights under California law, including the right to a complete accounting of trust assets, the right to information about how assets are being managed, and the right to hold a trustee accountable when they are not fulfilling their duties. If you have concerns about how a trust is being administered, I can review the situation and tell you honestly whether there is a problem and what your options are.

What makes trust administration difficult

The legal requirements are manageable when you know them. The harder part is usually the family. Trust administration happens in the weeks and months after someone’s death, when grief is fresh, when relationships are strained, and when long-standing disagreements about money have a way of coming forward. I have handled enough of these situations to know how to move the process forward without making those relationships worse.

Done right, trust administration ends quietly: the assets reach the people they were meant for, the paperwork is clean, and no one can come back at you later. Done wrong, it drags on for years and can land the trustee in court. The difference is usually one phone call at the start.

Trust administration also typically avoids probate entirely, closing an estate for a fraction of the roughly $46,000 in statutory fees a $1 million probate would cost.

The first conversation is always the right place to start. It costs nothing, and it usually answers the questions that matter most. Talk to Eric, a free 30-minute call.

See also: Trust Funding · Living Trust vs. Will

Trust Administration in Ventura County

When someone passes away with a living trust, the person named as successor trustee suddenly has a list of legal duties and often no idea where to start. I guide Ventura County trustees through settling the trust step by step, so they meet their obligations and protect themselves from beneficiary claims while honoring their loved one’s wishes.

Trust Administration FAQs

What are a trustee’s duties after the trust maker dies?

A successor trustee must notify beneficiaries and heirs, secure and value the assets, pay the decedent’s debts and taxes, and then distribute what remains according to the trust. California also requires sending a statutory notice to beneficiaries within a set time. The trustee has a legal duty to act in the beneficiaries’ best interest throughout.

Does a trust have to go through probate?

Generally no, which is the main reason people set up trusts. Assets properly held in the trust pass to beneficiaries through trust administration rather than the probate court in Ventura. Probate may still be needed for assets that were left out of the trust, which is where a pour-over will or other tools come in.

How long does trust administration take in California?

Simple trusts can be settled in a few months, but most take roughly six months to a year, and longer if there are tax issues, real estate to sell, or disputes among beneficiaries. The required creditor and notice periods set part of the timeline. Moving efficiently through each step keeps it from dragging out.

Do I need a lawyer to administer a trust?

It’s not legally required, but a trustee is personally liable for mistakes, so many people get guidance to avoid missteps with notices, taxes, and distributions. Even a few hours of legal advice can protect a trustee from a beneficiary claim later. The trust generally pays for reasonable administration costs, not the trustee personally.

Want a straight read on where you stand?

Talk to Eric. A free 30-minute call, no pitch. He’ll tell you what the law requires of you as trustee, what order to do it in, and where trustees get hurt.

Talk to Eric