Trustees are not usually subject to court supervision (unlike executors in court supervised probates). Trustees, and Special Trustees and Trust Protectors are the persons entrusted with the proper implementation of a Trust in a managerial or oversight capacity.
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.
A trustee is the individual who manages a trust. For example, if you created a trust for the benefit of your children, your trustee would be responsible for managing the assets in that trust. During their lifetime, many people choose to be their own trustee or share this responsibility with their spouse as co-trustees.
The answer to who holds more power depends largely on the context and specific circumstances of the estate or trust. Here's a summary to help clarify: Duration of Authority: Trustees often have ongoing responsibilities and powers that can extend indefinitely, while executors have a more limited, temporary role.
An executor does not possess the power to overrule or change the terms established by a trust; these roles carry separate responsibilities. An executor's role consists of overseeing and closing an estate as per its will's instructions without disrupting or interfering with their independent functions as 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.
Trustees have a legal obligation to adhere to the terms of the trust and be accountable to its beneficiaries for their actions. This obligation, also called their fiduciary duty, is one of the most important legal tools at your disposal to hold them responsible.
While executors have discretion in some areas, your core decision-making is bounded by: The deceased's will. You must follow their distribution wishes rather than diverging based on your own judgments.
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.
While trustees may temporarily be able to delay trust distributions if a valid reason exists for them doing so, they are rarely entitled to hold trust assets indefinitely or refuse beneficiaries the gifts they were left through the trust.
In addition to following all directions in the trust document, the trustee is responsible for: Assuming legal responsibility for administration of the trust. Taking control of and protecting trust assets. Handling accounting responsibilities of the trust.
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.
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.
Selecting the wrong trustee is easily the biggest blunder parents can make when setting up a trust fund. As estate planning attorneys, we've seen first-hand how this critical error undermines so many parents' good intentions.
From a legal standpoint, the trust itself is the official owner of any assets that have been retitled and transferred into it – not you as an individual.
Executors are bound to the terms of the will, which means they are not permitted to change beneficiaries. The beneficiaries who were named by the decedent will remain beneficiaries so long as the portions of the will in which they appear are not invalidated through a successful will contest.
Beneficiary Rights and Accounting
According to California Probate Code section 10950, if more than a year has passed since the beginning of probate administration and an accounting has not been filed, interested parties are entitled to file a petition with the court to make the executor to complete an accounting.
No. An executor of a will cannot take everything unless they are the will's sole beneficiary. An executor is a fiduciary to the estate beneficiaries, not necessarily a beneficiary. Serving as an executor only entitles someone to receive an executor fee.
A trustee must abide by the trust document and the California Probate Code. They are prohibited from using trust assets for personal gain and must act in the best interest of the beneficiaries. Trust assets are meant for the benefit of the trust beneficiaries and not for the personal use of the trustee.
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.
Under California law, beneficiaries can sue a trustee. The initial step is confirming the trustee's identity. Subsequently, one must prove a breach of duty.
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.
Typically, a revocable trust with clear provisions for outright distribution might conclude within 12 to 18 months. However, in simpler cases, the process can take an average of 4 to 5 months without complications.
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.