Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Re: Rights as Designated Trustee

What you can do as the Trustee will depend upon the powers of the Trustee as designated in the Trust document. I don't know who the beneficiaries are. If it is just you and your sibling, and if the Settlor of the Trust is out of the picture, you can pretty much do whatever you want and feel is best as long as you get the informed consent of your sister. If there are other beneficiaries, there consent is needed as well to protect yourself from allegations of breach of fiduciary duties as Trustee.

I generally advise that if there are enough assets to fund a trust, then the Trustee feel free to seek specific legal advice from an attorney who has an attorney/client relationship and can offer a written opinion on such issues to paper the transactions. The modest fees involved are a legitimate expense of the Trust.