Trustee Is Not Communicating With Beneficiaries in California

When a trustee stops returning calls, ignores emails, or refuses to provide basic information about trust assets, beneficiaries often feel powerless. California law imposes a clear duty to communicate, and it gives beneficiaries escalating tools to enforce it.

Start here. For the short version of what to send and when a court can step in, see our answer page on what to do when a trustee will not communicate. If the silence follows a trustee's notification after a death, the trust contest deadline calculator estimates the contest window that notice may have started, so that waiting for answers does not quietly use up your time.

What Is a Trustee's Duty to Keep Beneficiaries Informed?

A trustee must keep beneficiaries reasonably informed of the trust and its administration (Probate Code section 16060). Section 16061 adds that, on a beneficiary's reasonable request, the trustee must report information about the administration that is relevant to that beneficiary's interest, subject to limited exceptions. Section 16062 adds a separate duty to account, which the trust terms, a waiver or a statutory exception can limit. The duty is not satisfied by silence punctuated by occasional vague reassurances.

When a revocable trust becomes irrevocable because the settlor died, section 16061.7 requires the trustee to serve a notification on the beneficiaries and heirs, including the trustee's contact information and the right to request the trust terms. From then on the trustee is expected to answer reasonable requests and, unless an exception applies, to account. While the settlor is alive and competent, section 15800 gives those rights to the settlor rather than to the other beneficiaries. A trustee who goes dark for months, or who answers only that "everything is fine" without documents, is likely falling short of the duty.

As of September 2026, California trustees owe beneficiaries a continuing duty to keep them reasonably informed of the trust and its administration under Probate Code section 16060. On a reasonable request, a trustee must report information about the administration that is relevant to the requesting beneficiary's interest, subject to the exceptions in section 16069, and must account under section 16062 unless the trust terms, a valid waiver or a statutory exception provides otherwise. While a trust is revocable and the person who can revoke it is competent, those rights belong to that person rather than to the other beneficiaries. If a reasonable written request goes unanswered, a beneficiary can petition under section 17200 to compel the information or an account, and a persistent failure can support removal under section 15642. This summary does not decide whether a particular request was reasonable, and it does not cover disputes over whether the trust itself is valid.

Why Do Trustees Stop Communicating?

Some trustees are simply overwhelmed or inexperienced. Others are hiding something: self-dealing, commingled funds, or distributions made to one beneficiary at the expense of others. A few are following bad advice from non-specialist advisors who mistakenly believe silence protects the trust. Whatever the reason, prolonged silence is a red flag. Courts recognize that a trustee who refuses to account is often a trustee who cannot account.

Occasionally a trustee interprets "reasonably informed" to mean "told what I think they need to know." That is not the standard. Beneficiaries are entitled to enough information to protect their interests, monitor the trustee's performance, and enforce their rights. A trustee does not get to unilaterally decide that beneficiaries do not need to see bank statements, appraisals, or distribution records.

What Can Beneficiaries Do When a Trustee Will Not Communicate?

California law provides a ladder of remedies, each more formal than the last. Start with a written demand. Send the trustee a letter, by email and certified mail, requesting specific information: a copy of the trust, an accounting for a defined period, a list of assets, or answers to concrete questions. State a reasonable deadline. Keep a copy. If the trustee ignores the demand, that silence becomes evidence in any later proceeding.

If the trustee still refuses, beneficiaries may petition the probate court under section 17200 to compel the trustee to provide the trust terms, the requested information or an account. For information or an account, the petition generally follows a reasonable written request that went unanswered, so date and keep that request. A trustee who then disobeys a court order risks further orders, sanctions and removal.

When the silence is part of a broader pattern (missed deadlines, unexplained asset transfers, refusal to distribute), beneficiaries may petition for removal and surcharge. Removal replaces the trustee with a neutral successor. Surcharge holds the trustee personally liable for losses caused by the breach. Both remedies are available when the trustee's conduct demonstrates a substantial failure to perform fiduciary duties.

Beneficiaries do not need to prove theft or fraud to act. An unjustified refusal to inform is itself a breach of the duty in section 16060, and section 15642 lets a court remove a trustee for breach of trust, for failing or declining to act, or for other good cause, not only for embezzlement.

How Do You Prove a Trustee Is Not Communicating?

Document every attempt. Save emails, texts, voicemails, and certified-mail receipts. Note the dates you called and whether the trustee answered or returned the call. If the trustee does respond, save vague or evasive replies ("I'll get to it" or "everything is under control" without specifics) as evidence that the duty was not satisfied. If other beneficiaries are also being ignored, coordinate and share records; a pattern across multiple beneficiaries strengthens the case.

When you petition the court, attach this correspondence as exhibits. The trustee will be required to file a response, and the court will evaluate whether the trustee's level of communication met the legal standard. A trustee who cannot point to regular accountings, timely responses, and transparent records will struggle to defend the silence.

What Happens After You File a Petition?

The court sets a hearing. The trustee must file a written response and, if ordered, produce the accounting and documents. At the hearing, both sides present evidence and argument. The court may order disclosure or an account, set a schedule for future accountings, or remove the trustee if the breach is serious enough.

If the trustee's silence concealed self-dealing, unauthorized loans, or improper distributions, the court may impose a surcharge (a money judgment against the trustee personally) to make the trust whole. Whether the trustee personally pays the beneficiaries' legal fees depends on the statute and the facts. Section 17211, for example, allows fees against a trustee who opposed a contest of its account without reasonable cause and in bad faith; it is not automatic.

When Should You Talk to a Lawyer?

If a trustee has ignored your written demand or provided only partial, evasive responses, it is time to get help. A lawyer who handles trust litigation can evaluate whether the trustee's conduct rises to the level of breach, draft a demand letter that satisfies procedural requirements, and prepare a petition if the trustee continues to stall. The longer you wait, the more opportunity the trustee has to dissipate assets, destroy records, or claim that the delay waived your rights.

Many beneficiaries worry about the cost of going to court. Fee shifting against a trustee is available only in limited circumstances, so ask about fees, and about the realistic chance of recovering them, before filing. The risk of doing nothing is often greater than the cost of acting, because delay gives a trustee more room to move assets and makes records harder to reconstruct.

If you are dealing with a trustee who will not communicate, you are not alone, and you are not without options. The law is on your side. Call us at (213) 695-7353 any time, day or night, or tell us what happened in writing. Nothing you say commits you to anything; we will walk you through what comes next and what it takes to get the transparency you are owed.