Los Angeles Trust Litigation Attorney

If you are in a dispute over a trust in Los Angeles, a trust litigation attorney brings or defends the case in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles. That can mean contesting a trust, seeking a trustee's removal, compelling an accounting, or recovering property taken from a trust or estate.

Most people searching for a Los Angeles trust litigation attorney are not curious about trusts in the abstract. A parent has died, and a sibling now controls the house and the accounts. The beneficiaries have heard little or nothing for months. Or someone has seen an amendment, signed late in a parent's life, that rewrote years of family understanding. Some readers are on the other side: a trustee who has been accused of self-dealing and wants to know what the accusation means. This page explains what California law lets each party do, which deadlines apply, and how these disputes move through court.

What Trust Litigation in Los Angeles Actually Involves

Trust litigation is a court proceeding in which a beneficiary, heir, trustee or other interested person asks the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles to resolve a dispute. The dispute may be about whether a trust is valid, how a trustee has behaved, or who receives the trust's assets. A beneficiary is a person entitled to receive something from the trust. A trustee is the person who holds and manages the trust property for those beneficiaries.

The disputes fall into a few recurring families:

• Trust contests. These challenge whether a trust or amendment is valid, on grounds such as lack of capacity, undue influence, fraud or forgery.
• Breach of fiduciary duty claims. A fiduciary is a person legally bound to act in someone else's interest. These claims allege the trustee mismanaged, misused or self-dealt with trust property.
• Trustee removal petitions. These ask the court to replace the person managing the trust.
• Accounting demands. An accounting is a detailed financial report of what came into the trust, what went out and what remains.
• Recovery of wrongfully taken property. This includes a house, a business interest, bank and brokerage accounts, and personal property.

Trust cases are generally heard in the county where the trust's principal place of administration is located (for a testamentary trust, that county or the county where the decedent's estate is administered), under Probate Code section 17005. Those cases are heard in Los Angeles County by the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, while a trust administered elsewhere would be heard in that other county. A broader overview of how California trust litigation works appears elsewhere on this site.

Contesting a Trust in Los Angeles: Grounds and Deadlines

A trust contest asks the court to declare a trust, or part of one, invalid. The common grounds are:

• the settlor lacked the mental capacity to make the document (the settlor is the person who created the trust);
• undue influence;
• fraud;
• forgery; and
• failure to sign the document with the formalities the law requires.

Under Probate Code section 86, "undue influence" carries the meaning given in the Welfare and Institutions Code. That definition supplements the common-law meaning of undue influence.

The trustee's notification. Probate Code section 16061.7(a) requires a trustee to serve a written notification in listed events. Those events include:

• when a revocable trust becomes irrevocable because of a settlor's death; and
• whenever the trustee of an irrevocable trust changes.

An irrevocable trust is one that can no longer be changed.

The deadline. Under Probate Code section 16061.8, a person served with the notification under section 16061.7(a)(1) cannot bring an action to contest the trust after the later of two dates:

• 120 days from the date the notification is served; or
• 60 days from the date a copy of the trust's terms is delivered to the person during that 120-day period.

The clock is started by service of the trustee's notification, not by the death itself. Readers who suspect a trust or amendment is invalid often find this the single most pressing date in the case. The steps of how to contest a trust are covered on a separate page.

The presumption for certain gifts. Probate Code section 21380 presumes that a provision making a gift is the product of fraud or undue influence when the gift goes to any of these people:

• the person who drafted the document;
• a person in a fiduciary relationship with the transferor who transcribed the document or had it transcribed; or
• a care custodian of a dependent adult, but only if the document was signed while the care custodian was providing services or within 90 days before or after that period.

The presumption shifts the burden of proof. The person receiving the gift may generally rebut it by clear and convincing evidence. Under section 21380(c), for a gift to the drafter, and to the people section 21380(a) describes as related to or associated with the drafter, the presumption is conclusive and cannot be rebutted. A beneficiary who fails to rebut the presumption bears all costs of the proceeding, including reasonable attorney's fees. Not every gift to a caregiver, relative or helper is presumed invalid. The presumption applies only to the people the statute describes.

In plain terms, when a gift goes to someone in one of these positions, the person who received it generally has to show the gift was legitimate, rather than the challenger having to prove it was not.

No contest clauses. A no contest clause is a provision that penalizes a beneficiary who challenges the document. Under Probate Code section 21311(a), such a clause may be enforced only against these challenges:

• a direct contest brought without probable cause;
• a pleading claiming that property was not the transferor's when it was transferred, but only if the clause expressly covers this; and
• a creditor's claim or an action based on it, but only if the clause expressly covers this.

Under section 21311(b), probable cause exists if, at the time of filing, the facts known to the contestant would cause a reasonable person to believe there is a reasonable likelihood the requested relief will be granted after further investigation or discovery. Put simply, a challenge with a reasonable factual basis at the time it is filed is treated differently from one without that basis. A no contest clause does not automatically disinherit everyone who challenges a trust.

Trustee Duties and What Happens When They Are Breached

A trustee owes the beneficiaries a duty of loyalty. Under Probate Code section 16004(a), the trustee may not use or deal with trust property for the trustee's own profit or for any purpose unconnected with the trust. The trustee also may not take part in any transaction in which the trustee has an interest adverse to the beneficiary.

Section 16004(c) adds a presumption. A transaction between the trustee and a beneficiary by which the trustee gains an advantage from the beneficiary is presumed to violate the trustee's fiduciary duties. That presumption shifts the burden of proof. It does not apply to an agreement about the trustee's hiring or compensation. In everyday terms, a trustee who comes out ahead in a deal with a beneficiary is generally the one who has to justify it.

Information and accounting duties. The trustee has several duties to keep beneficiaries informed:

• Keeping beneficiaries informed. Section 16060 requires the trustee to keep the beneficiaries reasonably informed of the trust and its administration.
• Answering requests. Section 16061 generally requires the trustee to report requested information relevant to a beneficiary's interest on reasonable request, subject to section 16069.
• Accounting. Section 16062 generally requires the trustee to account at least annually, at the end of the trust, and when the trustee changes. That duty runs only to each beneficiary to whom income or principal is required, or authorized in the trustee's discretion, to be currently distributed. Not every beneficiary is owed an annual account. In plain terms, this accounting duty is tied to beneficiaries who are currently receiving, or currently eligible to receive, distributions. A beneficiary whose share is not yet payable may not be owed the account under this section, even though the general duties to keep beneficiaries informed still apply.
• Waived accounts. A trust or a beneficiary's writing may waive the account. Even so, under section 16064 the court may compel an account on a showing that it is reasonably likely a material breach of the trust has occurred.

Compensation. Under section 15681, a trustee is entitled to reasonable compensation under the circumstances if the trust does not set the trustee's pay. A trustee who wants to raise the fee must first give at least 60 days' written notice to the beneficiaries section 15686(b) lists. Those include each beneficiary entitled to an account. If a section 17200 petition is served before that period ends, section 15686(c) holds the increase back until the court orders otherwise or the petition is dismissed.

Remedies. When a trustee commits or threatens to commit a breach of trust, section 16420(a) lets a beneficiary or cotrustee start a proceeding for purposes including:

• compelling the trustee to perform the trustee's duties;
• stopping a breach;
• compelling redress by payment of money or otherwise;
• appointing a receiver or temporary trustee;
• removing the trustee;
• setting aside the trustee's acts, subject to section 18100;
• reducing or denying the trustee's compensation;
• imposing an equitable lien or a constructive trust, subject to section 18100; and
• tracing and recovering wrongfully disposed property, subject to section 18100.

A constructive trust is a court order treating specific property as held for its rightful owner. Under section 16420(b), these remedies do not prevent resort to any other appropriate remedy. The practical point is that a beneficiary is not limited to one form of relief; the court can stop the conduct, undo it, or require the trustee to pay for it.

Removal. Under section 15642(a), a trustee may be removed in three ways: under the terms of the trust instrument, by the court on its own motion, or on petition of a settlor, cotrustee or beneficiary under section 17200. The grounds in section 15642(b) include:

• a breach of trust;
• insolvency or other unfitness;
• hostility or lack of cooperation among cotrustees that impairs administration;
• failing or declining to act; and
• excessive compensation.

Surcharge. A surcharge is a money judgment against the trustee personally. Under section 16440(a), a trustee who breaches the trust is chargeable with whichever of these is appropriate:

• the loss or drop in value caused by the breach, with interest;
• any profit the trustee made through the breach, with interest; or
• profit the trust would have earned but for the breach.

Surcharge is not automatic. Under section 16440(b), the court may excuse a trustee who acted reasonably and in good faith, in whole or in part, if that would be equitable. In plain terms, a trustee who acted honestly and sensibly on what the trustee knew at the time may avoid some or all of the charge.

Time limits. Not every disagreement with a trustee is a breach, but a real claim has a limitations period. Section 16460(a) bars a claim for breach of trust unless a proceeding begins within one of two periods:

• three years after the beneficiary receives an account or other written report that adequately discloses the claim; or
• if no such account or report discloses the claim, or none is received, three years after the beneficiary discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the subject of the claim.

Put simply, receiving a written account that reveals a problem can start the clock, so the date such a document arrived often matters.

Petitioning the Court: How Trust Disputes Move Through the Los Angeles Superior Court

Most trust disputes reach the court by petition. Under Probate Code section 17200(a), a trustee or beneficiary may generally petition the court about the trust's internal affairs or to determine whether the trust exists, except as section 15800 provides.

The proceedings section 17200(b) lists are examples, not a complete list. Two matter most to beneficiaries who have been kept in the dark:

• A petition to compel information. This is available if the trustee has not provided requested information within 60 days after the beneficiary's reasonable written request, and the beneficiary has not received it within the six months before the request.
• A petition to compel an account. This is available if the trustee has not submitted a requested account within 60 days after written request, and no account has been made within the six months before the request.

These prerequisites come from section 17200(b)(7). A written request, dated and kept, is often the first real step. The mechanics are covered on the page about the Probate Code 17200 petition.

The court's power to act on these petitions is broad. Under section 17206, the court may make any orders necessary or proper to dispose of the matters presented, including appointing a temporary trustee to run the trust in whole or in part.

These petitions are filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles. Los Angeles County is large, and the court's caseload can affect how quickly hearings are set. The timing of any particular matter depends on the court's calendar and on how hard the parties fight.

Recovery of Wrongfully Taken Property and Double Damages

Probate Code section 859 adds a separate, serious consequence. A person may be liable for twice the value of the property recovered in an action under that part of the code. That liability applies only if the court finds the person did one of these things to property belonging to a trust or a decedent's estate:

• in bad faith, wrongfully took, concealed or disposed of the property;
• took, concealed or disposed of it by undue influence in bad faith; or
• took, concealed or disposed of it through elder or dependent adult financial abuse.

The court may also, in its discretion, award reasonable attorney's fees and costs against a person liable under section 859. Neither double liability nor fees is automatic. Each depends on the findings the court makes. Bad faith in the abstract is not enough without a finding about the property itself.

When the person who took the property is the trustee, section 859 works alongside the section 16420 remedies described above. Those include a constructive trust, an equitable lien, and tracing and recovering wrongfully disposed property. The disputed property can be a home, a family business, a brokerage account or the contents of a parent's house.

Will Contests and Probate Proceedings in Los Angeles County

Many Los Angeles families find that a trust dispute also involves a will. Often that is a pour-over will, which directs any assets left outside the trust into it, so both sets of rules can matter.

Capacity. Under Probate Code section 6100.5, capacity is tested at the moment the will is made. A person also lacks capacity if a mental health disorder with symptoms including delusions or hallucinations led the person to devise property in a way the person otherwise would not have. The section lists elements, including whether the person could understand:

• the nature of making a will;
• the nature and situation of their property; and
• their relationships with living descendants, spouse and parents, and with others whose interests the will affects.

A diagnosis alone, such as dementia, does not make a will invalid. The question is the person's capacity when the will was signed.

Contest before probate. Under section 8250, a will contest before the will is admitted to probate begins with an objection to probate. A summons is then issued and served, and the persons summoned must file a written response within 30 days after service.

Contest after probate. Under section 8270, any interested person may petition to revoke the probate of a will within 120 days after the will is admitted to probate. Two groups are excluded: a party to a will contest, and anyone who had actual notice of a contest in time to join it. Section 8270(b) gives an exception for a person who was a minor, or incompetent without a guardian or conservator, when the will was admitted. That person may petition at any time before the order for final distribution.

Removing an executor. The personal representative is the executor or administrator of the estate. Section 8502 permits removal for these causes:

• wasting, embezzling, mismanaging or committing a fraud on the estate, or being about to do so;
• being incapable of properly performing the duties, or not being qualified;
• wrongfully neglecting the estate, or long neglecting to act;
• removal otherwise being necessary to protect the estate or interested persons; and
• any other cause provided by statute.

What This Site Covers

This site does not handle estate planning, trust drafting or uncontested administration, and it does not explain how to create or run a trust when nobody disputes anything. A reader whose family is not in an existing or reasonably imminent dispute is not the reader this site is written for.

Discussing a Los Angeles Trust or Inheritance Dispute

A trust dispute usually turns on a handful of documents and dates. Those include the trust and every amendment, the trustee's notification and when it was served, any accounts or written reports, written requests for information, and records of transfers out of the trust. A consultation about a dispute like this typically looks at those papers and at the conduct behind them. That is how the applicable deadline, the right petition and the available remedies come into focus. Readers whose question is how to set up or run a trust without any disagreement are looking for something this page does not cover.

To raise a Los Angeles trust or estate dispute with an attorney, you may request a consultation about your dispute through California Trust Litigation Lawyers.