Is a trustee required to provide an accounting in California?
Yes, California Probate Code section 16062 requires a trustee to account at least once a year to current beneficiaries, and beneficiaries can petition the court under section 17200 to compel an accounting when a trustee refuses.
By the Probate Litigation Attorneys at Trust Law Partners, LLP
The right to an accounting, a full record of what the trustee has done with the trust's money, is one of the clearest and most powerful rights a trust beneficiary has in California.
State law requires that accounting be done at least once a year, listing every dollar received, spent, and held. When a trustee goes quiet, stalls, or sends a vague summary instead of real records, that silence is worth acting on, and California trust law gives you a way to compel the full accounting.
What the Law Says
- Under California Probate Code section 16062, a trustee must provide an accounting at least annually to each beneficiary currently entitled to trust income or principal.
- A trust accounting must include specific information under Probate Code section 16063, including all receipts, disbursements, assets, liabilities, and trustee compensation.
- If a trustee refuses to account, a beneficiary can petition the probate court to compel an accounting under Probate Code section 17200.
- A trustee who fails to account or mismanages the trust can face a surcharge (personal liability for losses) under Probate Code section 16440 and removal under section 15642.
What California Trust Law Requires a Trustee to Provide
California trustees owe beneficiaries an ongoing duty to keep them informed and to account for the trust in writing. The core requirement is an accounting at least once a year, and the law spells out what that accounting has to contain.
Is a trustee required to provide an accounting in California?
Yes. Under Probate Code section 16062, a trustee must provide a written accounting at least annually to every beneficiary currently entitled to receive trust income or principal. The same duty applies when a trustee changes and when the trust ends.
A trust can waive some reporting in its own terms, but that waiver is void when the trustee is a person the law treats as disqualified. For most beneficiaries, this means a yearly right to see the numbers.
What must a California trust accounting include?
California trust accounting must do more than show a balance. Probate Code section 16063 requires it to list the trust's receipts and disbursements of principal and income, a statement of assets and liabilities, the trustee's compensation, and the fees paid to any agents the trustee hired.
It also has to tell you that you can petition the court to review the account, and that you generally have three years to do so. A one-line summary or a bank balance does not satisfy this standard.
How often can a beneficiary request information between accountings?
Beyond the annual accounting, you can ask the trustee for information about the trust at any reasonable time. Probate Code section 16060 requires a trustee to keep beneficiaries reasonably informed, and section 16061 requires the trustee to report information about the trust's administration on your reasonable request.
These duties fill the space between formal accountings, so you are not left waiting a full year for the next report.
Your Rights as a Trust Beneficiary in California
Your rights as a trust beneficiary include seeing how the trust is managed, receiving a proper accounting, and going to court if the trustee stonewalls. Those rights are strongest once the trust becomes irrevocable, which usually happens at the settlor's death.
What information can a beneficiary demand from a trustee?
You can demand a full accounting and the records behind it, including how trust assets are invested, what has been paid out, and to whom. California law gives beneficiaries the right to enough information to protect their interest in the trust.
When a trustee provides only partial figures or refuses to explain a transaction, that refusal can support a petition seeking a complete accounting and supporting documentation.
Can a trustee ever refuse to provide an accounting?
Sometimes, though the exceptions are narrow. Probate Code section 16064 excuses a trustee from accounting in limited situations, such as while a trust is still revocable and the settlor is alive and competent, or where a beneficiary has signed a valid written waiver.
A trust document can also limit accounting, but that limit is void as to a disqualified trustee under section 16062. Outside these specific exceptions, a trustee who withholds an accounting is not on solid ground.
Does the beneficiary of a revocable trust have a right to an accounting?
Usually not while the person who created the trust is still living and competent. Under Probate Code section 15800, the trustee's duties run to the settlor, not the future beneficiaries, for as long as the trust can be revoked.
That changes when the settlor dies or loses capacity. At that point the trust generally becomes irrevocable, and your right to an accounting takes effect. Many disputes surface right at this transition, when a new set of beneficiaries finally gets to look at the books.
When a Trustee Won't Account: Enforcement and Litigation
When a trustee ignores the duty to account, you can force the issue in probate court. A petition can compel the accounting, and if the records reveal mismanagement, the same case can seek to make the trustee pay for losses or remove them entirely.
How do you compel a trustee to provide an accounting?
Start with a written demand, then take it to court if the trustee still refuses. A beneficiary can file a petition under Probate Code section 17200 asking the probate court to order the trustee to prepare and file an accounting.
The court can set a deadline, require the trustee to appear, and order the trustee to produce supporting records. Filing the petition often breaks a months-long stalemate, because the trustee now answers to a judge instead of to unanswered emails.
What is a surcharge, and when is a trustee personally liable?
A surcharge is a court order making a trustee personally repay the trust for losses their misconduct caused. Under Probate Code section 16420, the court can compel a trustee to redress a breach by paying money back to the trust, and section 16440 sets how that liability is measured: the loss in value, any profit the trustee made, or the profit the trust should have earned. A trustee who hides transactions behind a missing accounting is a frequent target for this remedy.
Can a trustee be removed for failing to account?
Yes. Refusing or failing to account is one of the grounds for removal under Probate Code section 15642, along with breach of trust, mismanagement, and conflicts of interest. A beneficiary can ask the court to remove the trustee and appoint someone neutral, and in urgent cases the court can suspend the trustee's powers while the petition is heard.
Because pursuing removal and surcharge takes real litigation, Trust Law Partners, LLP handles qualifying trust disputes on a contingency fee basis, an arrangement very few probate litigation firms offer, so families pay nothing unless the firm recovers.
How to Assert Your Right to a Trustee Accounting in California
If a trustee has gone quiet, a few practical moves can strengthen your position before you head to court. Each keeps the focus on the records and builds a paper trail a probate judge can act on.
- A written request usually works better than a phone call, because it fixes the date you asked and starts the clock on the trustee's response.
- Keeping copies of everything the trustee sends, plus anything that looks incomplete, can help, since gaps in the paperwork are often the heart of a later petition.
- Comparing what you expected the trust to hold against what the trustee reported can help a professional spot discrepancies quickly.
- Reaching out to a probate litigation attorney early can tell you whether the silence is a routine delay or the sign of a deeper breach.
Bringing these details to a consultation lets an attorney tell you sooner whether a petition to compel is worth filing.
California Trustee Accounting Questions Answered by Our Probate Litigation Attorneys
Who pays for a trust accounting in California?
The trust does. Preparing an accounting is part of administering the trust, so the reasonable cost comes out of trust assets, not the beneficiary's pocket. If a trustee claims you have to pay personally to see the accounting you are owed, that is a red flag worth raising with an attorney.
Can a beneficiary object to a trustee's accounting?
Yes. Once you receive an accounting, you generally have three years to file objections and ask the probate court to review it. If the trustee's defense of a flawed account is found to be in bad faith, Probate Code section 17211 can shift your attorney fees and costs onto the trustee personally.
Do beneficiaries have a right to see the trust's bank statements?
Often, yes. The formal accounting is the trustee's summary, but beneficiaries can request the underlying records, and a court can order the trustee to produce bank and brokerage statements when the accounting is questioned. Supporting documents are how you confirm the numbers in an accounting are real.
What happens if a trustee mixes trust money with personal funds?
Commingling trust funds with personal money is a breach of the trustee's duties, even if nothing is ultimately stolen. A court can order the trustee to account for the combined funds, impose a constructive trust to trace what belongs to the trust, and surcharge the trustee for any resulting loss.
When the Numbers Never Come
Most people asking for an accounting are not looking for a fight. They want to know the trust is being handled honestly and to see the proof in writing. Our probate litigation attorneys demand the records, petition the court to compel them when a trustee refuses, and dig into what the numbers show once they arrive.
Trust Law Partners, LLP handles qualifying trust disputes on a contingency fee basis, an arrangement very few probate litigation firms offer, so you pay nothing unless the firm recovers. Call 626-956-3500 for a free consultation to review where your trust stands and what the trustee owes you.
Jeffrey R. Loew
Managing Partner
Jeffrey R. Loew is a distinguished trial attorney and Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Law, with over two decades of experience advocating for clients in complex trust and estate litigation. As Managing Partner and Chief Legal Officer at Trust Law Partners, he oversees the firm’s strategic direction and legal operations, guiding one of the nation’s leading contingency-based trust and estate litigation practices.
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