The Journal — Plain-English Estate Law
Plain-English guidance on wills, trusts, probate, and protecting your family in California.
Can a Trustee Be Personally Liable in California?
Serving as trustee means your own assets can be on the hook if you breach your fiduciary duties, not just the trust's. Here's what actually creates that exposure…
Read →Trustee Liability After Distribution in California
Handing out the last check doesn't end a trustee's exposure. California law gives beneficiaries and creditors real windows to come back after distribution.
Read →Trustee’s Duty to Inform and Account (Prob. Code § 16060) CA
A trustee who's gone quiet isn't a beneficiary's imagination. California law spells out exactly what you're owed and when.
Read →Trustee Compensation in California: What’s Fair
California law lets a trustee charge a reasonable fee for the work of administering a trust, but "reasonable" is a judgment call, not a formula, and that's exactly…
Read →Trustee Breach of Fiduciary Duty in California
A trustee who favors themselves, mismanages assets, or stonewalls beneficiaries has likely breached a fiduciary duty California law takes seriously, with real remedies available.
Read →Trustee Accounting Requirements in California
Somewhere in the middle of trust administration, the trustee has to show beneficiaries the numbers, and California law spells out exactly what that document must contain.
Read →Trust Distribution Disputes Among Beneficiaries
Money changes how siblings talk to each other. Add a parent's death and a document with room for interpretation, and distribution can turn into a real fight.
Read →Trust Decanting in California: A Trustee’s Guide
Decanting is a trustee's tool for modernizing an outdated irrevocable trust by moving its assets into a new trust with better terms. Here's when it works.
Read →Want a straight read on where you stand?
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