Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

A trustee cannot charge costs that benefit the entire estate against only one beneficiary's share. An accounting benefits all beneficiaries, and indeed, may be required by law.

Your sister has thrown down the gauntlet. You need to retain counsel, who can advise you as to how to proceed. Indeed, you may decide you need to file a court action to threaten to have your sister removed as trustee for failing to do her job.

It is important for you to start acting now. My experience suggests that this situation will not change unless you do something, and it may indeed get worse.

If there is a probate and your sister is acting as the executor in that proceeding, she will have to account to the court before the proceeding is completed. If there is a trust with assets in it, you are entitled to at least an annual accounting and to be kept reasonably apprised of what is taking place within the trust.

I suggest you do retain an attorney. The first thing that must be done is to review all documents, including any trust as well as any will. If there is a probate, then the inventory should be reviewed to see what the assets are.

If there was a trust and after your parents death the trust became irrevocable, you should have received notice of that fact and information regarding the administration of the trust as well as the right to a copy of documents or have been sent documents.

The terms of the trust as well as statutes in California give the trustee certain rights and responsibilities and also give the beneficiaries certain rights.

Your attorney can obtain information or if not supplied, file an action in court to get that information.

Contact me should you wish to discuss this further. You can get my contact info and bio at http://nealrimer.com