Someone you love has died. The trust they created now has to be carried out.
Trust administration is the work that happens after the settlor dies. The trust does not run itself. Someone has to read it, identify what it owns, pay the debts, file the tax returns, notify the beneficiaries on the timeline the Probate Code requires, and distribute the assets the way the trust says. The work usually takes a year. We do it from start to finish.
When you'd come to us for this.
- The named successor trustee is an out-of-state child who cannot take three months off work to handle a California estate, and the family wants someone local who knows the bank, the assessor's office, the title companies, and the tax filings.
- The named successor trustee is in their seventies or eighties themselves, and the paperwork, the bank visits, the property cleanout, and the tax filings are beyond what their health or stamina can sustain over twelve months.
- The trust holds real property in San Diego or Riverside County that has to be cleaned out, repaired, listed, and sold while the family lives elsewhere. The on-site presence required to do that well is the part most families cannot supply.
- There are five or more beneficiaries and the family has a history of one or two of them being difficult. A neutral professional in the trustee role often defuses what an inside-family trustee would inflame.
- The decedent owned a small business or had complex investments, and the surviving spouse or child does not want to be the person making decisions about whether to keep them, sell them, or wind them down.
What happens next.
1. The reading and the inventory. Before anything else, we read the trust document carefully. We identify which trust we are dealing with — an A-B trust splits into two sub-trusts at the first death; a joint trust does not — who the beneficiaries are, what the distribution instructions actually say, and what assets the trust owns. Inventory comes from bank statements, brokerage statements, the assessor's roll, the safe-deposit box, and the home itself.
2. The §16061.7 beneficiary notice. California Probate Code §16061.7 requires the trustee to notify every beneficiary and every heir within sixty days of the settlor's death. The notice has specific statutory contents and triggers the 120-day window during which a beneficiary may contest the trust. We file it on time, properly served, every time. Missing this deadline creates personal liability for the trustee.
3. The clean-up year. Debts are paid; the credit-card accounts are closed; the Social Security Administration is notified; the DMV and the utility companies are notified; the household goods are sorted; the real property is either prepared for sale or transferred to a beneficiary. The decedent's final personal income-tax return is filed. The trust's first fiduciary income-tax return is filed. Estate tax — Form 706 — is filed if the estate exceeds the federal exclusion.
4. The accounting. Probate Code §16062 requires the trustee to give beneficiaries an accounting of trust activity. A well-prepared accounting heads off most disputes; a sloppy one creates them. Our accountings are prepared in the California-standard format and reviewed by a CPA where appropriate.
5. The distribution. Once debts and taxes are paid and the beneficiaries have received and approved the accounting, distributions are made according to the trust's instructions. Distribution receipts are obtained. The trust either continues (a sub-trust for a surviving spouse or a beneficiary's lifetime) or terminates. If it terminates, we close it.
What this costs.
Trust administration is billed hourly. The total cost depends on trust complexity, asset types, beneficiary cooperation, and whether real property has to be sold. A straightforward two-beneficiary trust with cash, brokerage, and one home typically totals fifteen to forty thousand dollars over twelve to eighteen months. A complex trust with business interests, multiple real properties, contested beneficiaries, or tax controversy can run six figures.
Cost estimation is part of the engagement-letter conversation. The hourly rate, the billing increment, and the categories of out-of-pocket cost are disclosed in writing before any work begins, consistent with AB 1194 §6563.
Common questions.
How long does a trust administration take?
For a straightforward trust without contested issues, twelve to eighteen months is typical. The biggest variables are whether real property has to be sold (often nine months from listing to close), whether estate tax has to be filed (Form 706 is due nine months after death, extendable), and whether any beneficiary objects to the accounting. Complicated trusts can run two or three years.
Do I still need the family's estate-planning attorney?
Usually yes, and we keep them in the loop throughout. The attorney drafted the trust and is the right person to interpret it when a question of legal construction comes up. We are the fiduciary carrying out the trust — the operational role. The two roles are complementary, not competing.
What if a beneficiary contests the trust?
The 120-day window after the §16061.7 notice is the legal moment to contest. If a beneficiary files a contest, the trust litigation attorney is the right professional for the dispute itself; we hold the trustee role neutrally while the litigation runs. We do not take sides among beneficiaries.
Not sure whether your situation calls for trust administration or probate? Our guide to the difference between a trustee and an executor in California explains which role applies to which assets.
Weighing the kind of trust to put in place, or wondering who should manage one once it exists? Our guide to the difference between a revocable and an irrevocable trust in California covers the tradeoffs and which one genuinely needs a professional trustee.
Still deciding between a trust and a will, or unsure why it matters which one holds an asset? Our guide to the difference between a trust and a will in California explains what each does and why a funded trust avoids probate.
If you are still at the beginning — wondering what a trust even is, or what people mean by the terms — start with what a living trust is in California, which explains the roles, what it does, and why funding is what makes it work; what a family trust is, which clears up that common label; and, when you are ready, how a living trust is set up.
For the questions that come up once a trust exists, our guides to what an irrevocable trust is and what a trust costs in California cover the choices and the costs people most often ask about — including when a trust genuinely needs a professional to administer it.
Consultations are by appointment and held in strict confidence.
Or call 760-33-TRUST (760-338-7878) directly.
Discretion and confidentiality are fundamental to our practice. Information submitted through this form is kept private and used solely for purposes of communication regarding potential fiduciary services.
