The trustor may have included provision in the trust for a third party, such as an attorney, to remove the trustee under certain circumstances. The trustee can also request their own removal voluntarily if they believe they are not fit for the role.
This process can either be carried out by the other trustees, or by the members. If you don't have a process set out in your governing documents, you may be able to refer to the Trustees Act (section 36). This section has provisions for removing and replacing trustees. Read the Trustees Act section 36.
At that stage, you're likely paying court fees to initiate a case as well as legal fees to one or more attorneys to argue the case in front of a judge. Depending on how long the case takes to revolve and the size of your legal team, you could easily end up paying thousands of dollars to remove a trustee.
In other words, while the trustee has the legal authority to manage and control the assets, they do so not for their own benefit, but for the beneficiaries. The trustee has a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of the beneficiaries when managing the property of the trust.
The trustee generally has the authority to withdraw money from a trust to cover the cost of third-party professionals, as well as any other expenses arising as a result of administration.
Generally speaking, once a trust becomes irrevocable, the trustee is entirely in control of the trust assets and the donor has no further rights to the assets and may not be a beneficiary or serve as a trustee.
Under California law, embezzling trust funds or property valued at $950 or less is a misdemeanor offense and is punishable by up to 6 months in county jail. If a trustee embezzles more than $950 from the trust, they can be charged with felony embezzlement, which carries a sentence of up to 3 years in jail.
Amendment Costs: Modifying a trust incurs additional expenses. Amendments cost between $200 and $500 each time, depending on the attorney's rates and the complexity of the changes.
The best chance you have to stop a trustee, to prevent that trustee from running away with the rest of the money, or losing the rest of the money is to get a court involved as soon as possible so that a court can put a freeze to those accounts, put a freeze to the trustee's actions, potentially remove the trustee out ...
Serving as the trustee of a trust instills a person with significant power. They have access to all the trust assets, but with a catch: They can only use those assets to carry out the instructions of the trust.
In general, the steps to this process are: The trustee must send a written notice to the beneficiary to vacate the real property. Under California law, if the beneficiary has been in possession of the property for less than a year, then a 30-day notice is sufficient.
A trustee typically has the most control in running their trust. They are granted authority by their grantor to oversee and distribute assets according to terms set out in their trust document, while beneficiaries merely reap its benefits without overseeing its operations themselves.
Send notice in writing to all of the trust beneficiaries and any other interested parties providing them with the effective date of the trust dissolution. Obtain signed documents from the beneficiaries acknowledging their receipt of trust distributions.
A A Trustee is disqualified 'as Trustee' upon his death, loss of his legal competence, removal from trusteeship, liquidation, rescinding his licence or declaring his bankruptcy. The Trust shall then be transferred to the other Trustees in case of multiple Trustees, unless the Trust Instrument provides otherwise.
If the trustee is not paying beneficiaries accurately or on time, legal action can be taken against them.
Depending on the complexity of the case, it may cost anywhere from a few thousand dollars to $100,000 or more to dispute the terms of a trust.
Examples of executor misconduct and trustee misconduct include: Failing to provide accountings to beneficiaries. Favoring one beneficiary over another. Misappropriating or misusing estate or trust assets for personal gain.
Ultimately, trustees can only withdraw money from a trust account for specific expenses within certain limitations. Their duties require them to comply with the grantor's wishes. If they breach their fiduciary duties, they will be removed as the trustee and face a surcharge for compensatory damages.
Trustee malfeasance refers to any type of negligent, self-serving, erroneous, or retaliatory conduct committed by the trustee of a trust resulting in harm to trust assets or beneficiaries. Trustee malfeasance is a broad term encompassing many different types of offenses, both intentional and unintentional.
Being a trustee is also a role that can be quite time consuming, more so than most people assume. Depending on the nature of the estate, being a trustee can require quite a few hours, which can be hard to come by if the trustee also has a full-time job, a family, and/or other obligations.
WHO IS THE “RIGHT” TRUSTEE? A natural first inclination is to consider a family member or trusted friend who knows you and your philosophies and values well. Family or friends may personally know your beneficiaries and their needs.
It is not unusual for the successor trustee of a trust to also be a beneficiary of the same trust. This is because settlors often name trusted family members or friends to both manage their trust and inherit from it.