Enforcing Trusts and Wills in Los Angeles County and Orange County Probate Courts

A trust or a will is only as good as the person carrying it out. When that person will not account for the money, sells trust property to a friend, or produced a last-minute amendment that rewrote the family’s expectations, the Probate Code gives beneficiaries a way to force the issue. Fred Yadegar handles enforcing trusts and wills in the probate courts of Los Angeles County and Orange County, for beneficiaries and heirs who are being kept in the dark, and for trustees who are being accused without cause.

The three disputes that fill our calendar

The silent trustee. Months pass after a parent’s death, and the beneficiaries have seen no accounting, no copy of the trust, and no explanation. The law entitles current beneficiaries to an accounting at least once a year (Prob. Code §16062), and silence past that point is not a personality trait, it is a breach.

The self-dealing trustee. A trustee living in a trust-owned house rent-free, paying an unapproved fee, or selling property below market to someone they know. Loyalty to the beneficiaries, impartiality among them, prudent investment, and avoiding conflicts are statutory duties (Prob. Code §16000–16015), not suggestions.

The eleventh-hour change. A parent who told everyone for years how things would be divided signs an amendment in the last months of life that leaves nearly everything to one child, a caregiver, or a new spouse. The question is whether the document reflects what the parent wanted or what someone else wanted for them.

The deadline comes first

After the settlor’s death the trustee must send the notification required by Prob. Code §16061.7. From service of that notice, a beneficiary has 120 days to contest the trust, or 60 days after receiving a copy of the trust terms, whichever is later (§16061.8). The date on the envelope is therefore the first thing we ask about. A dispute about how the trust is being run is a different matter from a contest of the document, but a beneficiary who waits while a trustee stalls loses ground either way.

Trustee duties, and how they are enforced

What the Probate Code requires

The trustee must administer the trust for the beneficiaries and no one else, treat them even-handedly, invest with prudence, and avoid transactions that benefit the trustee personally (Prob. Code §16000–16015), and must account to current beneficiaries at least annually (§16062). A trustee who is also a beneficiary owes the same duties to the others.

The §17200 petition

When a written request is ignored, the tool is a petition to the probate court under Prob. Code §17200. Through it, a beneficiary can ask the court to compel an accounting, to instruct the trustee on what the trust requires, or to remove the trustee and appoint a successor. Filing converts a family standoff into a court calendar with dates the trustee must meet, and it puts the trustee’s conduct in front of a judge who reads accountings for a living.

Grounds for setting a document aside

Undue influence. The statute defines it as excessive persuasion that causes a person to act, or not act, by overcoming that person’s free will, resulting in inequity (Welf. & Inst. Code §15610.70, adopted in Prob. Code §86). The question is whether the document reflects the person’s own choices or someone else’s.

Defective execution. A formal will requires two witnesses present at the same time (Prob. Code §6110); a handwritten will requires the material provisions and the signature in the testator’s own hand (§6111). An amendment that ignores the method the trust itself prescribes can be ineffective.

Capacity and fraud. A person must understand what the document does and who is affected by it, and a signature obtained by lies about the document or about the family can be set aside.

No-contest clauses

Many trusts threaten to disinherit anyone who challenges them. In California, a no-contest clause is enforceable only in limited situations (Prob. Code §21311). We evaluate the clause and the strength of the grounds before anything is filed, so you know the risk you are taking and whether it is real.

When you are the trustee under attack

Accusations come from siblings who expected more, from beneficiaries who mistake a careful sale for a slow one, and from heirs who were deliberately left out. Fred represents trustees and executors who are administering in good faith: assembling an accounting that satisfies the statute, answering a §17200 petition, and documenting decisions so they can withstand review. A document review at the start of an administration prevents most of these fights.

Before the first call

• Note the date any trustee notice, accounting, or copy of the trust reached you
• Put a dated, written request to the trustee for the trust, its amendments, and an accounting, and keep a copy
• Collect prior versions of the will or trust, deeds, and bank statements you have access to
• Preserve messages from the trustee and from anyone you believe pressured the settlor
• Do not sign a release or receipt in exchange for a partial distribution until the numbers have been checked

Why beneficiaries and trustees call Fred

Fred Yadegar is a California attorney, State Bar #244184, licensed since 2006, and he litigates trust and will disputes in the Los Angeles County and Orange County probate courts. He also drafts trusts, which means he knows how a sound document is built and where a weak one gives way. Many of these cases settle, and he tells you early what a realistic resolution looks like and what the court could order if it does not. Tell us what’s going on and we’ll explain your options and costs before you commit to anything.