Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Jurisdiction lies where the trust may made or the residence of the trustor [maker of the trust], not the person who is merely administrating the trust. But SCC will probably say Probate court is the appropriate location to determine the issues. Also remember that the trustee will try to saddle all the expenses they have onto the trust. Find out exactly why the trustee will not distribute the funds;check the trust instructions to be sure the trustee is supposed to distribute the funds. You probably will then need an attorney to write a letter to the trustee pointing out why they must do the distribution, the consequences of their failing to do so [surcharged, removed as trustee, etc.]. that approach is much cheaper than going to court to try to get a judge to rule that way.

An attorney can probably review the entire trust within an hour, review the e-mails between the beneficiaries and trustee and discuss what is relevant with you in a total of 2+ hours. Hourly rates vary with attorneys. Some will not want to experience the administrative effort necessary for such a small monetary matter. That does not bother me.

Litigation over trust issues is in the probate court, not small claims court. Additionally, California small claims court's only have a very limited jurisdiction over nonresident defendants, usually stemming from motor vehicle accidents in California or disputes over real property in California.