Trustees have considerable power over a trust, which can sometimes make beneficiaries feel like they are at their mercy. When a trustee refuses to take action, many beneficiaries have the same question: Can a trustee refuse to act? Fortunately, when you work with an experienced California trust litigation lawyer, you will have no reason to feel powerless. Lawyers will empower you to hold negligent, ignorant, or malicious trustees accountable to protect your inheritance and preserve the integrity of the trust.
At Gokal Law Group, we have been representing and advocating for beneficiaries in California probate courts for years. When a trustee is inactive, we will take action and compel them to act. Learn more in our blog.
Can a Trustee Refuse to Act? What You Need to Know!
It is crucial to first assess your situation when asking, Can a trustee refuse to act? Ultimately, your circumstances will dictate the available legal recourse. Common and reasonable causes for delays you should be aware of include:
- Organizational delays in figuring out what they need to do
- Complications in locating and marshaling assets
- Litigation delays
Trustees have a legally binding obligation to fulfill their fiduciary duty and adhere to the terms laid out in the trust instrument. Complications can arise, but trustees cannot refuse to act without proper justification, and reviewing the trust instrument is the first step to determine whether it supports their inaction
By law, you cannot remove trustees from their position unless they have violated trust terms. The language in these documents can be complicated and full of legal jargon, so working with an experienced attorney to interpret it is of the utmost importance.
“We have helped countless beneficiaries who came to us with this exact issue. Sometimes, trustees ignore the trust terms willfully and refuse to invest assets properly or make distributions. Other times, trustees simply do not understand their fiduciary duties. Regardless, court intervention is crucial to preserve your inheritance and the integrity of the trust.” – Harry Wallace, a Senior California trust litigation attorney with Gokal Law Group with over 30 years of trust and probate litigation experience.
What to Do When a Trustee Refuses to Act
Several options are at your disposal if you are in a situation causing you to ask, Can a trustee refuse to act?
Typically, the only way to force a trustee to act is by filing a petition in probate court and requesting that the judge orders them to act. The probate court has considerable power in these situations, but this power is not without limitations.
Still, taking advantage of these legal measures can help ensure a fair distribution. Per Probate Code Section 16420, the court can exercise several remedies in these situations, like:
- Ordering the trustee to take action
- Ordering an accounting
- Compelling the trustee to repay the trust for damages their inactivity caused
- Assigning a temporary trustee
- Removing the trustee
- Reducing or denying the trustee’s compensation
- And more
Several potential remedies exist that the probate court can use when a trustee refuses to act, but determining which ones are ideal for you and your situation requires the counsel of an expert California trust litigation lawyer.
It may be necessary to pursue litigation, and file a petition to order the trustee to take certain actions. After filing your petition, you will then work with your attorney to gather all the relevant and admissible evidence you need to support your claim.
“In a recent case we saw, the trustee was also a sibling to the other beneficiaries. There were tensions and bad blood among them, and he was refusing to act as retaliation. The result was endless stress and complications for the beneficiaries, and we rectified the issue with legal action in court.” – Harry Wallace.
Premier California Trust Litigation Attorneys
A trustee who refuses to act is a hazard to the trust they oversee. At best, beneficiaries will have to wait to receive their rightful inheritance, and at worst, this signals negligence or malicious intent that could undermine the trust, deplete its assets, and more. With the help of a premier California trust litigation lawyer at Gokal Law Group, you can rest assured that we will exhaust every legal resource available to spur inactive trustees to action.
So, can a trustee refuse to act? The answer is not so cut dry, but we can help you determine the best legal recourse for your situation and receive justice in a court of law. Call us at (949) 753-9100 or contact us to request a case evaluation to compel a trustee to act.
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