# What Is a Trustee? Meaning, Duties and Pay in California > A trustee holds and manages a trust for its beneficiaries. Learn what a California trustee does, the legal duties, pay, removal, and when to hire a pro. Source: https://ridleylawoffices.com/what-is-a-trustee-california/ By Eric Ridley, attorney, Ridley Law. Updated October 2026. A trustee is the person or company that holds legal title to a trust’s assets and manages them for the beneficiaries under the terms of the trust. In California the trustee is a fiduciary, which means the law requires the trustee to put the beneficiaries’ interests ahead of their own. Most people first meet the word when a parent dies and a letter arrives naming them successor trustee. ## What is a trustee? A trustee is the person or institution a trust names to hold the trust’s property and carry out its instructions for the beneficiaries. The person who creates the trust is the settlor (also called the trustor). The trustee holds title, the beneficiaries receive the benefit, and the trust document sets the rules. Under Prob. Code, § 15600, a person named as trustee accepts the job by signing the trust or a separate written acceptance, or by knowingly acting under the trust. You can read the short definition in our [trustee glossary entry](https://ridleylawoffices.com/estate-planning-glossary-california/trustee/). You’ll hear these kinds of trustee: - **Initial trustee.** In a revocable living trust, the person who made the trust usually serves as the first trustee. Nothing changes day to day. - **Co-trustee.** Two or more people serving together. Unless the trust says otherwise, they must act unanimously (Prob. Code, § 15620). If they can’t agree, see [co-trustee deadlock](https://ridleylawoffices.com/co-trustee-deadlock-california/). - **Successor trustee.** The person who takes over when the initial trustee dies, becomes incapacitated, or resigns. Our [successor trustee guide](https://ridleylawoffices.com/successor-trustee-california/) covers this role in depth. - **Professional trustee.** A bank trust department, a licensed trust company, or a professional fiduciary hired to serve for a fee. ## What does a trustee do? A trustee collects and protects the trust’s assets, pays its bills and taxes, keeps the beneficiaries informed, and distributes what’s left according to the trust. Task lists live in separate guides: [what a successor trustee does](https://ridleylawoffices.com/what-does-a-successor-trustee-do-california/), the [first 30 days checklist](https://ridleylawoffices.com/successor-trustee-checklist-first-30-days-california/), and the [first 90 days guide](https://ridleylawoffices.com/guides/trustee-90-days/). - **Loyalty.** The trustee must administer the trust solely in the interest of the beneficiaries (Prob. Code, § 16002). - **Impartiality.** With two or more beneficiaries, the trustee must deal with them impartially, taking into account their differing interests (Prob. Code, § 16003). - **Prudent administration.** The trustee must use the reasonable care, skill, and caution a prudent person would use in the same role (Prob. Code, § 16040). - **Prudent investing.** The trustee must invest and manage trust assets as a prudent investor would, considering the trust’s purposes, terms, and distribution requirements (Prob. Code, § 16047). - **Keeping separate.** The trustee must keep trust property separate from the trustee’s own and see that it’s designated as trust property (Prob. Code, § 16009). Mixing the two is a classic way to get sued. See [what happens when a trustee commingles funds](https://ridleylawoffices.com/trustee-commingled-trust-funds-california/). - **Informing and accounting.** The trustee must keep beneficiaries reasonably informed (Prob. Code, § 16060), serve a notification within 60 days after a revocable trust becomes irrevocable at a settlor’s death (Prob. Code, § 16061.7), and account to beneficiaries at least annually, at termination, and on a change of trustee (Prob. Code, § 16062). More at [the duty to inform and account](https://ridleylawoffices.com/trustee-duty-to-inform-account-16060-california/) and [accounting requirements](https://ridleylawoffices.com/trustee-accounting-requirements-california/). ## What’s the difference between a trustee and a beneficiary? The trustee manages the trust’s assets, and the beneficiary is the person those assets are managed for. The trustee owes duties. The beneficiary holds rights, including the right to information and an accounting. Our guide [Trustee vs Beneficiary](https://ridleylawoffices.com/guides/trustee-vs-beneficiary/) sets out where those roles collide. Executors are a different job again; see [executor vs. trustee](https://ridleylawoffices.com/trustee-vs-executor-california-guide/). ## Can a trustee also be a beneficiary? Yes. It’s common for a spouse or an adult child to serve as trustee of a trust that benefits them, and California law allows it. The duty of loyalty still applies, so a trustee-beneficiary can’t favor themselves over the other beneficiaries. The tension is sharpest with siblings sharing a trust. Read [Can a trustee also be a beneficiary in California?](https://ridleylawoffices.com/can-a-trustee-be-a-beneficiary-california/) for the limits. ## How much does a trustee get paid in California? If the trust doesn’t set the trustee’s pay, the trustee is entitled to reasonable compensation under the circumstances (Prob. Code, § 15681). If the trust does set a fee, that fee controls, but a court can still remove a trustee whose compensation is excessive under the circumstances (Prob. Code, § 15642). There’s no fixed statutory percentage. See [trustee compensation in California](https://ridleylawoffices.com/trustee-compensation-california/), [executor and trustee fees](https://ridleylawoffices.com/executor-trustee-fees-california/), and the guide [Do You Get Paid?](https://ridleylawoffices.com/guides/fiduciary-pay/). ## Does a successor trustee have access to the bank account? Yes, once the trust is irrevocable or the initial trustee can no longer serve, the successor trustee can take over accounts that are titled in the trust’s name. Banks will want proof of authority, usually the death certificate and a certification of trust (Prob. Code, § 18100.5) or trust pages. An account still titled in the deceased person’s own name isn’t a trust account, and the successor trustee has no automatic access to it. See [how to access a deceased parent’s bank account](https://ridleylawoffices.com/deceased-parents-bank-account-california/). ## What is the first thing a successor trustee should do? Get the trust document and a certified death certificate, then secure the assets before you spend or distribute anything. Don’t sign anything for the trust or move money until you’ve read the trust. The order of operations is in the [successor trustee checklist for the first 30 days](https://ridleylawoffices.com/successor-trustee-checklist-first-30-days-california/). If you live out of state, read [this guide for out-of-state trustees](https://ridleylawoffices.com/successor-trustee-living-out-of-state-california/). ## Who can be a trustee? Almost any competent adult or a licensed trust company can serve, and the trust names who does. A successor trustee has the right to decline. If no one named will serve, the trust’s own method for filling the vacancy controls, and if there’s none, the law provides a way to fill it (Prob. Code, § 15660). See [when the successor trustee refuses to serve](https://ridleylawoffices.com/successor-trustee-refuses-to-serve-california/). If you’re choosing, [how to choose a trustee](https://ridleylawoffices.com/how-to-choose-a-trustee-california/) walks through the tradeoffs. ## How is a trustee removed? A trustee can be removed as the trust provides, or by the court on its own motion or on petition of a settlor, cotrustee, or beneficiary (Prob. Code, § 15642). The grounds the statute lists include breach of trust, insolvency or unfitness, hostility among cotrustees that impairs administration, failure or refusal to act, and excessive compensation. Start with [how to remove a trustee](https://ridleylawoffices.com/how-to-remove-a-trustee-california/) and [the grounds under section 15642](https://ridleylawoffices.com/grounds-for-trustee-removal-15642-california/). ## Can a trustee be personally liable? Yes. A trustee who breaches a duty can be required to make the trust whole out of personal funds. Careful records and doing what the trust says are the best protection. See [personal liability of trustees](https://ridleylawoffices.com/trustee-personal-liability-california/) and [breach of fiduciary duty](https://ridleylawoffices.com/trustee-breach-of-fiduciary-duty-california/). ## When should you hire a professional trustee? Consider one when the trust is large or complicated, the family is in conflict, or no one named is willing or able to do the work. A professional trustee charges for the service, and the fee comes out of the trust. Many families keep a family member as trustee and hire a lawyer and an accountant instead. If you’re weighing it, [our trust administration guides](https://ridleylawoffices.com/trust-administration-guides/) are a good place to start, or contact Ridley Law and we’ll talk it through. Sources - [California Legislative Information, Probate Code, Division 9 (Trust Law), §§ 15600, 15620, 15642, 15660, 15681, 16002, 16003, 16009, 16040, 16047, 16060, 16061.7, 16062](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=PROB&division=9.&title=&part=4.&chapter=2.&article=1.) This page is general information, not legal advice for your situation. For a specific trust, [browse our free guides](https://ridleylawoffices.com/guides/) or contact Ridley Law.