The trustee has the power to acquire or dispose of property, for cash or on credit, at public or private sale, or by exchange. 16227. The trustee has the power to manage, control, divide, develop, improve, exchange, partition, change the character of, or abandon trust property or any interest therein.
A trustee is a person or entity responsible for and with the authority for managing and administering your trust according to your instructions and in accordance with state law. They are considered a fiduciary (meaning they are held to a higher standard of care and owe certain duties to the beneficiaries).
Normally, a Trustee will have the following powers: to invest the Trust assets; to deal with land; to delegate certain matters to an agent or nominee; to insure the Trust's property; to make advances of capital to beneficiaries; to provide for beneficiaries who are under age; and to lend funds to beneficiaries.
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.
If the trustee is not paying beneficiaries accurately or on time, legal action can be taken against them.
The answer is a resounding yes. The ability to seek removal and replacement of a trustee is one of your most important rights as a trust beneficiary. And it may be the only option you have for ensuring you receive your rightful inheritance from a deceased loved one's trust.
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.
The trustee must act solely in the interest of the beneficiaries, avoiding conflicts of interest and self-dealing. Any breach of this duty can result in personal liability.
Reasons for removing a trustee
They may reach the end of their term of office. They may choose to step down. Their circumstances may change in a way which stops them from continuing their role.
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.
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 can end up having to pay taxes out of their own personal funds if they fail to take action on behalf of the estate in a timely way. Of course, they can also face criminal liability for such crimes as taking money out of a trust to pay for their own kids' college tuition. Yup, that's stealing.
While a POA agent can make decisions on the principal's finances and health care, their role essentially dies with the death of the principal. A trustee, however, is responsible for the assets held within a trust and their administration following the trustor's death or guidelines of the trust document.
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.
Yes, a trustee can override a beneficiary if the beneficiary requests something that is not permitted under the law or by the terms of the trust. Under California Probate Code §16000, trustees must administer the trust according to the terms of the trust instrument.
Trustees hold legal powers such as managing assets, making investment decisions, distributing funds to beneficiaries, and ensuring compliance with trust terms and laws.
A common misunderstanding is that the trust owns the property within it. This is not really true. The trustee of the trust holds legal title to the trust property. The trust beneficiaries hold beneficial title to the trust property.
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.
One way to remove a trustee is to rely on an express provision in the trust instrument. This provision may either be a power of removal, or a provision for the automatic removal of a trustee.
In this case, the trustee can and must sue the offending beneficiary. The rules for any trustee to sue include showing a proper cause of action, such as a tort, contract, or quasi-contract claim, and showing the resulting damages.
While a trustee may not legally withhold trust assets based on their own discretion, they may withhold assets if the power and discretion is afforded to them by the terms laid out in the trust document.
Misappropriation of trust assets is when a trustee unlawfully uses them for personal gain without beneficiary consent. This act breaches their fiduciary duty. If such misconduct arises, beneficiaries can petition the probate court for the trustee's removal.
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.