Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Trust Mismanagement

I am the beneficiary of a trust and

receive x no of dollars per month. I am

aware the trustee is badly mismanaging

the trust. He does transmit income in

an amount the trust would be expected

to produce but he does not provide any

statements concerning the type of

investments associated with the trust or

which ones are producing income.

Thus I have no way of knowing whether

the trust is invested prudently.

Furthermore, there have been no K-1's

for the past three years and thus I've

had to estimate for tax purposes what

income I need to report. Most

ominously about 15% of the trust assets

have turned up on the California Att

Gen's list of lost assets. I've notified the

trustee of all of the above but have

received no acknowledgement. The

trustee, in other words, will not discuss

it. As if it is none of my business so

long as income is forthcoming.

So the question is: what are my rights

and to whom do I turn for remedy? I

have not been able to determine if the

trust is registered with the State of CA.

Which brings up the question: can a

trust be legal if it is not registered?

Thanks for your answer.


Asked on 12/07/06, 5:27 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Matthew Mickelson Law Offices of Matthew C. Mickelson

Re: Trust Mismanagement

You have the right to demand an accounting from the trustee detailing how he has managed the funds; if that accounting is insufficient, or if it shows mishandling of funds, you can sue the trustee to have him replace the misused funds with his own. You can also seek to have the trustee removed. This can be done regardless of whether or not the trust has been "registered" in California (most trusts do not need to be registered with the court.) All of this will take legal action, however, and you will probably need a lawyer to commence the proceedings. Feel free to talk to me if you would like to discuss this further.

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Answered on 12/07/06, 5:48 pm


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