By Corcoran Smith Law Corp. · Updated
The Trustee Won’t Communicate With Me
A California trustee has a legal duty to keep beneficiaries reasonably informed under Probate Code section 16060. Your information and accounting rights depend on your position and statutory exceptions. Preserve a reasonable written request and replies, check any separate deadline, and assess the conditions for court relief before filing.
When silence may breach the duty to inform
Beneficiaries often assume an unresponsive trustee is simply difficult, disorganized, or grieving. California law takes a different view. Probate Code section 16060 imposes an affirmative duty on the trustee to keep beneficiaries reasonably informed of the trust and its administration. A trustee who does not respond to reasonable requests is not merely being unhelpful; the conduct may itself constitute a breach of fiduciary duty. Subject to section 15800 and the conditions for the relief sought, section 17200 permits a trustee or beneficiary to petition the probate court concerning the internal affairs of the trust, including to compel an accounting, compel the trustee to report information, instruct the trustee, or seek removal. Section 15642 permits removal for breach of trust, unfitness, failure to act, and other good cause. A documented pattern of unanswered written requests is often the most persuasive evidence a petitioner has, which is why the written record matters more than the phone calls.
Sources: Probate Code s.16060 - Trustee duty to inform and report · Probate Code s.17200 - Petitions concerning internal affairs of trust · Probate Code s.15642 - Removal of trustee · Verified 2026-08-03.
Keep a record before requesting information
This checklist is for organizing your own papers, not deciding which rights you have. Keep it with the rights that apply to your position. Nothing is collected or submitted here.
- Identify your position. Note whether you are named in the trust, an heir requesting terms, a current distributee or a remainder beneficiary. Record whether the trust is revocable and who holds the power to revoke.
- Save the documents and dates. Keep the trust and amendments you received, notices, envelopes, accounts and any court papers. Record when and how each arrived; keep originals.
- Make a focused written request. Identify the information you need and how it relates to your interest. Ask about documents, administration or an account separately from a demand for payment. Keep the dated request and delivery evidence.
- Log what happens next. Keep replies and a dated record of calls and unanswered requests. Include earlier information or accounts so counsel can assess the request history.
- Check urgency before waiting. A contest notice, hearing or threatened transfer needs prompt advice. A request for information does not extend a contest deadline.
Next: what an account should show or a withheld distribution. These are different problems with different remedies.
Print this page to keep the checklist with your records. Avoid putting private trust papers into a public message or comment.
Choose the remedy that fits the problem
A request does not automatically create an accounting obligation or require removal. Start with your status and the trust’s circumstances. Under section 17200(b)(7)(B), a petition to compel section 16061 information requires a reasonable written request left unfulfilled for 60 days and no receipt of that information in the six months before the request. The account route in section 17200(b)(7)(C) has its own 60-day and six-month conditions and remains subject to section 16064. Section 15800 can limit beneficiary standing while a trust is revocable. Review the request, earlier replies and exceptions with counsel; these are conditions for particular relief, not a universal deadline for every trustee response.
Sources: Probate Code s.16061 - Report of information on request · Probate Code s.17200 - Petitions concerning internal affairs of trust · Probate Code s.15800 - Rights while a trust is revocable · Verified 2026-09-11.
An accounting question concerns the financial record; a distribution dispute concerns payment or property; removal requires appropriate grounds. None is an automatic next step after a missed call.
Do not let the deadline run while you wait. A request for information does not extend a trust-contest deadline. If you received a statutory notification, check the notice and delivery dates and the section 16061.8 rules. Check your deadline.
Need help with legal fees?
We litigate select cases on contingency, with no upfront fees.
Costs are separate from the fee, and whether you are responsible for them is set out in the written agreement before you sign anything.
How contingency fees work in California
A contingency fee means the attorney is paid from what is recovered rather than by the hour, so a beneficiary who cannot fund litigation out of pocket can still bring a claim. California regulates these agreements closely. Under Business and Professions Code section 6147, the agreement must be in writing and the attorney must give the client a duplicate copy, signed by both, when the contract is made. It must state the agreed contingency rate; how disbursements and costs incurred in prosecuting or settling the claim will affect that fee; and to what extent the client could be required to pay for related matters. Unless the matter falls under section 6146, the agreement must also state that the fee is not set by law and is negotiable. These are not formalities: failure to comply with any provision of section 6147 makes the agreement voidable at the client’s option, leaving the attorney entitled only to a reasonable fee.
Sources: Business and Professions Code s.6147 - Contingency fee contracts · Verified 2026-08-03.
Not every matter suits a contingency arrangement, and the firm does not take every case on one. Whether yours qualifies depends on the facts, the likely recovery, and the assets actually available to satisfy a judgment. Ask when you call.
Call Anytime — Answered 24/7 · (213) 695-7353The Probate Code sections behind this page
Each section links to its official text at the California Legislature’s own site. The full index of sections covers the rest of the Code.
Also cited above, explained elsewhere on this site
- Probate Code section 17200
- Petitions concerning internal affairs of trust. Where section 17200 is explained
- Probate Code section 15642
- Removal of trustee. Where section 15642 is explained
- Probate Code section 16060
- Trustee duty to inform and report. Where section 16060 is explained
Before you call: What a dispute costs · How a case runs · Which court hears it