Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Unless your brother is a trustee or co-trustee you should be able to do everything without his consent and without the intervention of the Courts. Even if he is a co-trustee you can probably take care of everything without him, but that will depend on the terms of the Trust. If he is the sole trustee and refuses to act you will have to go to Court to compel him to do so or to replace him. You cannot, of course, compel him to give a release to any co-trustees or others and if that is an issue you may need to go to Court for approval of a trust accounting and plan of distribution.

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