Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

He can act irresponsibly, and lose trust assets. That is why the beneficiaries should periodically ask for accountings of trust assets. In the event that happens, or is about to happen, you can seek to have the court remove them as trustee, and surcharge the trustee for misappropriations of trust assets.

There are lots of things the trustee can do to end the trust, including simply quit. But terminating a trust frequently means that another trustee is appointed. "Can the trustee . . . change or end this trust?" Is a question that would require the better part of a volume in a treatise on trusts and estates to answer when asked that abstractly.

It is not clear what your concern is. If you are worried about the Trustee loosing and/or wasting the assets of the Trust, and even if you are not, you should request periodic accountings. Depending on the complexity of the Trust, this could be as simple as getting copies of the account statements for the Trust which would avoid the cost of a formal or Court approved accounting. If you are interested in having the Trust terminated and receiving a lump sum now, that would depend on the terms of the Trust and the facts and circumstances surrounding it.

Jon Reich

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