Trust Litigation in San Jose and Santa Clara County

If a trust or probate dispute in San Jose or Santa Clara County reaches court, it is heard by the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara. California's Probate Code supplies the rules: who may petition, the deadlines for contesting a trust or will, and what a court may order against a trustee or executor who breaches a duty.

Most people facing a trust dispute in Santa Clara County arrive here after a death in the family, often with a parent's house, accounts or business now in someone else's hands. Some are beneficiaries who have been waiting months for information or a distribution that has not come. Others learned of a late-life amendment that changed everything, or are trustees and executors who have been accused of wrongdoing and want to understand what they are facing. The questions tend to be the same: which court decides this, what the law allows, and how much time there is.

What Trust Litigation Involves in Santa Clara County

Trust litigation is the set of court disputes over whether a trust is valid, how it is being run, and who receives what from it. It is different from setting up a trust or administering one when nobody disagrees; this page covers only the disputes. When those disputes involve a trust or estate connected to San Jose or anywhere else in the county, they are heard by the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara, which sits in San Jose, the county seat.

Probate Code section 17200 is the main doorway into that court. Except as section 15800 provides, a trustee or beneficiary may petition the court concerning the internal affairs of a trust or to determine whether a trust exists at all. The statute lists proceedings that count as internal affairs, including questions about how to read the trust document, whether a trust provision is valid, settling the trustee's accounts and passing on the trustee's acts, instructing the trustee, and compelling the trustee to provide a copy of the trust terms. That list is expressly not exhaustive. A fuller walk-through of who may file and what the court may order appears in the guide to a Probate Code 17200 petition.

Common Disputes That Reach the Santa Clara County Superior Court

Disputes that reach the Santa Clara County court usually fall into a handful of recognizable patterns, though a single family's case can involve several at once.

Trust contests. A trust contest challenges the validity of the trust document itself, or of an amendment, on grounds such as lack of capacity, undue influence, fraud or forgery. The deadline and the presumptions that often shape these cases are covered in the next two sections, and the guide on how to contest a trust goes further.

Breach of fiduciary duty. A fiduciary duty is a legal obligation to act in someone else's interest. Under Probate Code section 16004(a), a trustee has a duty not to use or deal with trust property for the trustee's own profit or for any purpose unconnected with the trust, and not to take part in any transaction in which the trustee has an interest adverse to the beneficiary. Section 16004(c) adds that a transaction between the trustee and a beneficiary, during the trust or while the trustee's influence remains, by which the trustee obtains an advantage from the beneficiary is presumed to violate the trustee's fiduciary duties. That presumption shifts the burden of proof to the trustee, and it does not apply to an agreement about hiring or paying the trustee.

Information and accounting disputes. Under Probate Code section 16060, a trustee must keep the beneficiaries reasonably informed of the trust and its administration, and California law generally requires a trustee to report requested information relevant to a beneficiary's interest on reasonable request. An account is a detailed report of what came into the trust, what went out and what remains. Under Probate Code section 16062, the trustee generally must account at least annually, at the termination of the trust, and upon a change of trustee, 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 that annual account, and older trusts have exceptions. Even where a trust document or a beneficiary's writing waives the account, the court may still compel the trustee to account on a showing that it is reasonably likely a material breach of the trust has occurred.

When requests go unanswered, a beneficiary may ask the court to step in through a section 17200 petition. A petition to compel information is generally available if the trustee has not provided the 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 is generally 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.

Removal of a trustee. Under Probate Code section 15642(a), a trustee may be removed in accordance with the trust document, by the court on its own motion, or on petition of a settlor (the person who created the trust), a cotrustee or a beneficiary under section 17200. The grounds section 15642(b) lists include a breach of trust, insolvency or unfitness, hostility or lack of cooperation among cotrustees that impairs administration, failing or declining to act, and excessive compensation; the list is partial.

Recovery of property. Under Probate Code section 859, if a court finds that a person in bad faith wrongfully took, concealed or disposed of property belonging to a trust or a decedent's estate (among others), or took, concealed or disposed of it by undue influence in bad faith or through elder or dependent adult financial abuse, that person is liable for twice the value of the property recovered in the action. The court may also, in its discretion, award reasonable attorney's fees and costs against the person liable. Neither the doubled amount nor fees follow automatically from filing; each depends on the court's finding.

Trust Contests and the Notice Deadline Under California Law

Many beneficiaries in San Jose reasonably wonder whether the clock on a trust contest is already running. The answer usually turns on a document called the trustee's notification. Under Probate Code section 16061.7(a), a trustee must serve that notification in listed events, including when a revocable trust becomes irrevocable because of a settlor's death and whenever the trustee of an irrevocable trust changes. Those are not the only events the section lists.

Probate Code section 16061.8 then sets the deadline for a person served with the notification after a settlor's death or a related contingency: that person cannot bring an action to contest the trust more than 120 days from the date the notification is served, or 60 days from the date a copy of the trust terms is delivered to the person during that 120-day period, whichever is later. The period is measured from service of the notification or delivery of the terms, not from the date of death or the date the trust became irrevocable, and the rule does not mean every possible trust contest must be filed within 120 days.

Many trusts also contain a no contest clause, which is a provision meant to penalize a beneficiary who challenges the document. Under Probate Code section 21311(a), such a clause may be enforced only against a direct contest brought without probable cause, a pleading challenging a transfer of property on the ground that it was not the transferor's property (only if the clause expressly says so), and the filing of a creditor's claim or an action based on it (again, only if the clause expressly says so). 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 an opportunity for further investigation or discovery. A no contest clause does not automatically disinherit everyone who challenges a trust or will.

Undue Influence and the Presumption Under Probate Code Section 21380

Probate Code section 21380(a) presumes that certain gifts in a trust, will or other instrument are the product of fraud or undue influence. The section covers a donative transfer (a gift, as opposed to a payment for value) to persons it describes, including the person who drafted the instrument, a person in a fiduciary relationship with the transferor who transcribed it or caused it to be transcribed, and a care custodian of a dependent adult transferor, but only if the instrument was executed while the care custodian provided services or within 90 days before or after that period. The section also reaches a care custodian who began a marriage, cohabitation or domestic partnership with a dependent adult in the circumstances it describes.

The presumption affects the burden of proof: the person receiving the gift generally must rebut it by clear and convincing evidence. For a transfer to the drafter, and to certain people the law associates 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. None of this means every gift to a caregiver, relative or helper is presumed invalid; the presumption applies only to the people and timing the statute describes. Outside it, undue influence carries the meaning Probate Code section 86 gives it by reference to the Welfare and Institutions Code.

Remedies Available When a Trustee Breaches a Duty

For a beneficiary who believes a trustee has mishandled a family's trust, or a trustee trying to understand the exposure, Probate Code section 16420(a) sets out what a court can be asked to do. If a trustee commits or threatens to commit a breach of trust, a beneficiary or cotrustee may bring a proceeding to compel the trustee to perform the trustee's duties; to enjoin (court-order a stop to) a breach; to compel the trustee to redress a breach by payment of money or otherwise; to appoint a receiver or temporary trustee to take possession of the trust property and administer the trust; to remove the trustee; subject to section 18100, to set aside acts of the trustee; to reduce or deny the trustee's compensation; subject to section 18100, to impose an equitable lien or a constructive trust (a court-declared hold on specific property for the trust's benefit); and, subject to section 18100, to trace and recover wrongfully disposed property or its proceeds. Under section 16420(b), these remedies do not prevent resort to any other appropriate remedy under statute or common law.

A surcharge is a court order requiring a trustee to make the trust whole. Under Probate Code section 16440(a), a trustee who commits a breach is chargeable with whichever is appropriate: the loss or depreciation in value resulting from the breach, with interest; any profit the trustee made through the breach, with interest; or any profit that would have accrued to the trust if the lost profit resulted from the breach. Under section 16440(b), the court may, in its discretion, excuse a trustee who acted reasonably and in good faith under the circumstances as known to the trustee, in whole or in part, if that would be equitable. A surcharge is never automatic.

Timing matters here as well. Under Probate Code section 16460(a), a breach of trust claim is barred unless a proceeding is commenced within three years after the beneficiary receives an interim or final account or other written report that adequately discloses the existence of the claim; where no account or report discloses it, or none is received, the claim generally must be brought within three years after the beneficiary discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the subject of the claim.

Compensation disputes are common too. Under Probate Code section 15681, if the trust document does not set the trustee's pay, the trustee is entitled to reasonable compensation under the circumstances. California law also bars a trustee from charging an increased fee without first giving at least 60 days' written notice to the beneficiaries the law specifies, and a section 17200 petition served before that period expires holds the increase back until the court orders otherwise or the petition is dismissed. More on how these remedies fit together is in the overview of California trust litigation.

Trust and Probate Disputes Involving Estates in Santa Clara County

Not every San Jose family's dispute involves a trust. When property passes by will through probate, the Santa Clara County Superior Court hears will contests and executor disputes as well.

Capacity. Under Probate Code section 6100.5, a person is not mentally competent to make a will if, at the time of making it, the person lacked sufficient capacity to understand the nature of the testamentary act, to understand and recollect the nature and situation of the person's property, or to remember and understand the person's relations to living descendants, spouse and parents and those whose interests the will affects; or if a mental health disorder with delusions or hallucinations led the person to leave property in a way the person otherwise would not have. Capacity is measured at the moment the will was made, and a diagnosis such as dementia does not by itself make a will invalid.

Contesting a will before probate. Under Probate Code section 8250, a contest before the will is admitted begins when the contestant files an objection to probate. A summons is then issued and served, with a copy of the objection, and the persons summoned must file a written response within 30 days after service. A person named as executor has no duty to defend the contest until appointed.

After the will is admitted. Under Probate Code section 8270, generally within 120 days after a will is admitted to probate, an interested person may petition to revoke the probate, except a party to an earlier will contest or a person who had actual notice of one in time to join it. A person who was a minor, or incompetent without a guardian or conservator, when the will was admitted may petition any time before the order for final distribution.

Removing an executor or administrator. Under Probate Code section 8502, a personal representative may be removed for wasting, embezzling, mismanaging or committing a fraud on the estate, or being about to do so; being incapable of properly executing the duties or not qualified; wrongfully neglecting the estate or long neglecting to act; removal otherwise being necessary to protect the estate or interested persons; or any other cause provided by statute. The section 859 rule described above reaches estate property on the same conditions.

Submitting an Inquiry About a San Jose or Santa Clara County Trust Dispute

This site covers disputes only. It does not offer estate-planning help, guidance on drafting or funding a trust, or help with an estate or trust administration that nobody is contesting.

Discussing a Trust or Probate Dispute in Santa Clara County

A dispute over a trust or estate in Santa Clara County often turns on a few specific things: the date a trustee's notification was served, what accounts or reports were sent and when, the timing of a late amendment or gift, and what happened to a particular house, account or business. An attorney who reviews the trust or will, the notification, any accounts and the relevant correspondence can say which deadline and remedy apply to those facts. Readers still deciding whether a dispute exists at all may find the statewide guides on this site a useful place to start.

To describe a San Jose or Santa Clara County dispute to an attorney, contact California Trust Litigation Lawyers to request a consultation about your dispute.