After a parent or grandparent dies, family members often know that a trust exists but have no idea what it says. A sibling may announce that they are now the trustee, say they are “handling everything,” and refuse to provide any documents. Sometimes a beneficiary receives only a summary of what they will inherit. In other cases, the trustee stays silent for months.
California law does not generally allow a trustee to keep an irrevocable trust hidden from the people whose rights may be affected by it. Probate Code section 16061.7 requires a trustee to send a formal notice after certain events, including when a revocable trust becomes irrevocable because of the settlor’s death. The notice must tell recipients that they may request and receive a true and complete copy of the trust’s terms.
The notice identifies the person controlling the trust and gives beneficiaries and heirs an opportunity to investigate their rights. It may also begin a short deadline for filing a trust contest.
When Must a Trustee Send the Notice?
The most common triggering event occurs when the person who created a revocable living trust dies and the trust becomes irrevocable. The duty may also arise when there is a change of trustee of an already irrevocable trust.
The trustee generally must serve the notice no later than 60 days after the event that created the notice obligation. When the settlor’s death leaves the trustee’s office vacant, the 60-day period begins when the new trustee starts serving. If the trustee later learns about a beneficiary or heir who was previously unknown, the trustee generally has 60 days after becoming aware of that person to provide notice.
Note that the 60-day rule concerns notice, not final distribution of the trust assets. Trust administration may take many months and sometimes even years, particularly when the trust owns real estate, business interests, investments, or other property that must be appraised or sold.
Who Is Entitled to Receive Notice?
When a revocable trust becomes irrevocable because of a settlor’s death, the trustee must generally serve notice on each beneficiary of the irrevocable trust or irrevocable portion. The trustee must also notify each heir of the deceased settlor.
An heir is someone who would inherit under California intestate succession law if there were no valid estate plan. An heir may therefore be entitled to notice even when the trust leaves that person nothing. For example, a disinherited child may still receive notice because the child is an heir, even though the trust names other people as beneficiaries.
The law includes heirs because they may have grounds to investigate whether the trust or a late amendment is valid. A person cannot make an informed decision about a possible claim without knowing essential information such as that the trust has become irrevocable, who is serving as trustee, and how to obtain the governing document.
A trustee does not necessarily violate the statute by failing to notify someone who is unknown or who cannot be located after reasonable diligence. In the absence of a court ruling identifying the heirs, the trustee may make a good-faith determination using reasonable means. The trustee should not, however, use uncertainty as an excuse to avoid making reasonable efforts to identify and locate family members.
What Must the Trustee’s Notice Include?
A valid notification under Probate Code section 16061.7 must contain specific information. It must identify the settlor and state the date the trust instrument was signed. It must provide the name, address, and telephone number of each trustee, along with the physical address of the trust’s principal place of administration.
The notice must also tell the recipient that, upon reasonable request, the recipient is entitled to receive a true and complete copy of the terms of the trust. If the trust itself requires additional information in the notice, the trustee must include that information as well.
When the notice is sent because a revocable trust became irrevocable due to a settlor’s death, it must include a separate warning in at least 10-point boldface type, or its reasonable equivalent. The warning explains that the recipient may have only 120 days from service of the notice to bring a trust contest, or 60 days from delivery of the trust terms if the copy is delivered during that 120-day period, whichever deadline is later.
A letter that merely says, “You are a beneficiary,” may not satisfy the statute. Neither may an informal text message from the trustee. Whether a notice is legally sufficient can become a disputed issue, especially when the trustee argues that the deadline to challenge the trust has expired.
Does the Trustee Have to Send the Entire Trust Automatically?
Section 16061.7 requires the notice to explain the right to request the trust, but it does not always require the trustee to attach the complete document automatically. A beneficiary or qualifying heir should make a written request promptly.
Probate Code section 16061.5 requires the trustee to provide a true and complete copy of the terms of the irrevocable trust, or the irrevocable portion, to a beneficiary who requests it. When the trust became irrevocable because of the settlor’s death, an heir of the deceased settlor may also request the document.
The phrase “true and complete copy” is important. A trustee should not provide selected pages, a handwritten summary, or only the provision describing one beneficiary’s gift. The operative trust terms may include the original trust, amendments, restatements, schedules, and other provisions affecting the recipient’s rights.
A beneficiary may need to determine how the trustee was appointed, what powers the trustee holds, whether gifts were changed, and whether the document contains a no-contest clause. Reviewing only one provision rarely provides enough context to understand the complete estate plan.
A written request should identify the requester, refer to the deceased settlor and trust, and ask for a true and complete copy of all operative trust terms. The request should be sent in a manner that creates a record of when it was made and what documents were requested.
Why the 120-Day Deadline Demands Immediate Attention
The trustee’s notice can trigger one of the most important deadlines in California trust litigation. Under Probate Code section 16061.8, a person properly served after a revocable trust becomes irrevocable due to death generally may not bring an action contesting the trust more than 120 days after service of the notice.
If the trust terms are delivered during that 120-day period, the deadline is the later of the original 120 days or 60 days after delivery of the trust terms. In other words, the period may extend to up to 180 days, if the trust instrument is delivered on the final day of the initial 120-day period. But after that period is past, the heir, beneficiary or other claimant may have forfeited the right to file a contest.
This deadline can affect claims that a trust or amendment is invalid because of undue influence, lack of mental capacity, fraud, forgery, or failure to comply with required formalities. Waiting for the trustee to finish administering the trust may cause a beneficiary to lose the ability to challenge the document itself.
A beneficiary should treat the date of service as the beginning of an urgent review. The recipient should preserve the envelope and notice, request the complete trust immediately, and gather prior versions of the estate plan, communications, medical information, and witness names. Evidence in trust contests often becomes more difficult to obtain as time passes.
What If the Trustee Never Sends Notice?
A trustee’s failure to provide notice does not necessarily give the trustee a permanent advantage. The statutory contest period generally depends on service of the required notice. Whether an incomplete or defective notice triggered the deadline may require careful analysis of the notice’s language, the method of service, and the surrounding facts.
A beneficiary should not simply wait for the trustee to cooperate. Probate Code section 16060 separately requires trustees to keep beneficiaries reasonably informed about the trust and its administration. California courts recognize that trustees must maintain records and provide beneficiaries with information required by law.
A beneficiary may petition the probate court under Probate Code section 17200 to compel the trustee to provide the trust terms or other required information. Section 17200 permits beneficiaries to ask the court to address the internal affairs of a trust, including questions involving a trustee’s duties and a beneficiary’s rights.
The court may also address broader breaches of duty when the refusal is part of concealment, self-dealing, favoritism, or mismanagement. A refusal to provide the trust does not prove that property has been stolen or that the document is invalid, but unnecessary secrecy can prevent beneficiaries from monitoring the trustee and protecting their inheritance.
Seeing the Trust Is the Beginning, Not the End
Receiving a copy of the trust answers the first question: What does the document say? It may raise many others. Which version controls? Was a late amendment signed when the settlor was vulnerable? Are trust assets missing? Is the trustee following the distribution instructions? Has one beneficiary received special treatment?
Beneficiaries should review the trust alongside its amendments, the trustee’s notice, available asset information, and the history surrounding changes to the estate plan. When the document appears inconsistent with the settlor’s long-standing wishes, or when the trustee refuses basic transparency, a trust litigation attorney can determine whether immediate court action is needed.
Trust Law Partners represents beneficiaries and heirs, as well as trustees, in disputes involving withheld trust documents, contested amendments, undue influence, incapacity, fiduciary misconduct, and other inheritance conflicts. Because the deadline following a trustee’s notice can be short, beneficiaries should act promptly rather than waiting for the trustee to finish the administration.
Call Trust Law Partners at 833-878-7852 to discuss your rights and the steps available to protect your inheritance.