Los Angeles Trust Administration Lawyer

Support for Successor Trustees & Families

Becoming a successor trustee can leave you responsible for property and finances while meeting obligations to beneficiaries during a major family transition. Our Los Angeles trust administration lawyer can help you understand what the trust calls for, identify its assets, address outstanding obligations, and move toward distribution without overlooking important steps.

Stonewood Law Group P.C. works with trustees and families throughout Greater Los Angeles, including those administering substantial assets such as homes, investment accounts, and business interests. For added convenience, you can complete the process fully remotely.

Start with a free consultation: call (213) 457-0497 or use our online contact form. We communicate in English, Spanish, Hebrew, and Armenian.

What Happens When You Need to Administer a Trust

Trust administration involves more than transferring property to beneficiaries. A trustee must carry out the trust’s terms, communicate with interested parties, and properly manage its assets.

Understand Your Responsibilities 

Your first steps may include reviewing the trust and its amendments, identifying beneficiaries, locating trust property, and understanding your authority as trustee.

This review establishes who has an interest in the trust, what property must be administered, and which powers the trust grants you. It’s separate from the formal beneficiary notification that follows when a revocable trust becomes irrevocable.

When a revocable trust becomes irrevocable because of a settlor’s death, California law generally calls for the successor trustee to serve a formal notification on beneficiaries and the deceased settlor’s heirs within 60 days. That notice also begins a statutory period for challenging the trust.

The 60-day period begins when the trust becomes irrevocable or when the trustee learns of a previously unknown person entitled to notice. After notice is served following a death, the deadline to bring a trust contest is generally 120 days after service or 60 days after the trust terms are delivered during that period, whichever is later.

Identify and Handle the Trust's Assets and Obligations

Trust administration may involve:

• Gathering financial accounts, real estate, business interests, and personal property
• Addressing debts and taxes
• Keeping beneficiaries informed

Trustees may also have accounting duties. California law generally calls for an accounting at least annually, at termination, and when a trustee changes, subject to statutory exceptions.

Under California Probate Code section 16062, an accounting gives beneficiaries information about trust property, receipts, disbursements, and distributions. This ongoing duty is separate from the initial duty to notify beneficiaries and heirs.

California real estate can add another layer. Proposition 19 limits the parent-child property-tax exclusion and sets specific conditions for transfers of a family home. The transferee generally must establish the inherited family home as a principal residence within one year of transfer and file for the homeowners’ or disabled veterans’ exemption within that period.

Rental homes, vacation homes, and commercial property don’t qualify for the Proposition 19 parent-child exclusion.

Legal Guidance You Can Trust

With experience going back to 2015, our lawyer can guide you when trust language is unclear, beneficiaries disagree, the trust owns valuable real estate or interests in a company, tax questions arise, or you’re uncertain about your authority. Addressing those issues before distributing assets can help prevent a mistake from becoming a dispute that’s much harder to unwind.

Trust Administration Guidance for Complex Estates

A trustee’s authority comes from the trust terms and applicable law. We examine both before you take steps involving disputed distributions, valuable property, ownership stakes, or other decisions that could affect beneficiaries.

Stonewood Law Group P.C. takes a hands-on, accessible approach to both straightforward and sophisticated, high-net-worth estates. We also build relationships that can continue across generations.

You’ll receive explanations, letters, and guidance throughout the process rather than being left to manage unfamiliar responsibilities alone. We serve clients across Greater Los Angeles, with convenient access near where the 101 meets the 405.

Call (213) 457-0497 or use our contact form to request a free consultation. Our reputation is reflected in our client reviews, and we welcome the chance to serve you next.