What Happens to a Living Trust After Death
When the person who created a California living trust dies, the trust becomes irrevocable and the successor trustee takes over. Probate Code section 16061.7 requires them to notify beneficiaries and heirs, and that notice starts a 120-day clock to contest the trust.
The three things that change on the day of death
A revocable living trust exists to be changed during the settlor’s lifetime. When the settlor dies, three things happen at once. The trust generally becomes irrevocable, so its terms are now fixed. The successor trustee named in the document steps in and takes on the duties of a trustee, including the duty under Probate Code section 16060 to keep beneficiaries reasonably informed of the trust and its administration. And under section 16061.7 the trustee must serve notification on each beneficiary of the irrevocable trust and each heir of the deceased settlor, and provide a true and complete copy of the trust’s terms to anyone entitled who requests it. That notification is not a courtesy. Service starts the 120-day period under section 16061.8 in which a contest must be brought, and a trust copy mailed during that window can instead give 60 days from that mailing where later. A trustee who never serves the notice has not started the clock at all.
Sources: Probate Code s.16060 - Trustee duty to inform and report · Probate Code s.16061.7 - Trustee notification · Probate Code s.16061.8 - 120-day contest period · Probate Code s.16062 - Duty to account to beneficiaries · Verified 2026-08-03.
The sequence, and what to check at each step
| Step | What should happen | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Successor trustee takes over | The person named in the document accepts | That it is the person the trust actually names |
| §16061.7 notification served | Beneficiaries and the settlor’s heirs are served | The date it reached you — not the date on the letter |
| Trust copy provided on request | A true and complete copy of the terms | Whether amendments are included, and their dates |
| Assets marshalled, debts and taxes paid | An orderly, explainable process | Whether anything is being sold, occupied or lent |
| Accounting and distribution | Beneficiaries receive their shares | Whether the numbers reconcile |
The signals that something is wrong
Most people who eventually bring a claim noticed the same handful of things first: the notice never came, or came months late; the copy of the trust arrived with an amendment nobody knew about, signed close to the death; the trustee stopped returning calls; the house was occupied or listed without explanation; or the accounting never arrived. Each of those has a specific remedy, and none of them improves by waiting — the deadline runs whether or not you have understood what happened.
Where to go next
If the document itself looks wrong, that is a trust contest, and the deadline calculator will estimate your window. If the document is fine but the trustee is not, the questions are an accounting, a distribution that will not come, or removal. If money left before the death, a contest may not reach it and financial elder abuse is the claim that does.
Related: living trust disputes generally, your rights as a beneficiary, and the deadlines.
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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.
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