Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

respondsibiblities of successor trustee in trust

What are the legal responsibilities of the second successor to the third and last in a trust She didn't want to give us a copy of the trust.Money has been coming in but we have not seen any of it. We only want what is ours but she wants it all.Is she required to give us an accounting ect..? Are there any legal laws protecting us and overseeing the second trustee? There is considerable property and money is this trust.thank you very much theresA


Asked on 1/04/06, 11:45 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys

H.M. Torrey The Law Offices of H.M. Torrey

Re: respondsibiblities of successor trustee in trust

Your question, especially in the beginning is a bit difficult to follow or ascertain. However, in a nutshell, any and/or all trustees have fiduciary duties of due care and loyalty. Inherent in these duties would be not to commit waste of the trust property or act self interested. A trustee must provide accounting on the trust in order to ensure waste is not being committed, etc...If you would like further assistance in this legal matter, contact us directly for a free phone consultation.

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Answered on 1/05/06, 3:37 am
Ken Koenen Koenen & Tokunaga, P.C.

Re: respondsibiblities of successor trustee in trust

There are specific obligations that a trustee has. You do not indicate it the person who made the trust has passed away, thus transferring the position of trustee to the named succesor.

If someone did pass away, then the trust is now irrevocable (or a portion of it is) and the trustee is required to notify all named beneficiaries and potential heirs that they are entitled to receive a copy of the trust.

There are other things that a trustee must do, which are much too detailed to go into here. You should probably contact an attorney to represent you in this matter. It is not something you can handle from out of state.

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Answered on 1/05/06, 11:48 am
J. Chris Carpenter Harvey and Carpenter

Re: respondsibiblities of successor trustee in trust

Dear Theresa,

Thank you for your question regarding your family's trust. As a beneficiary, you do have rights to information about the assets in the trust. More importantly, the trustee has a "fiduciary" obligation to follow the rules in the trust document in addition to the law. One of the trustee's duties is to provide statements of the assets and transactions of the trust to the beneficiaries. We might be able to help you with your situation. Please give me a call at 5076253000 or toll-free at 18775995550.

Regards,

Luke Robinson

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Answered on 1/06/06, 4:51 pm


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