By Corcoran Smith Law Corp. · Published · Updated
Trust Accounting in California
A California trust accounting is the trustee's written report of what the trust holds, what came in, what went out, and what remains. A trustee must generally account at least annually, at termination, and on a change of trustee. A beneficiary who is refused one can petition the court to compel it.
When must a trustee account?
Probate Code section 16062 sets the baseline. A trustee must account at least annually, at the termination of the trust, and on a change of trustee, to each beneficiary to whom income or principal is required or authorized in the trustee’s discretion to be currently distributed. The section carries real exceptions — trustees of living trusts created before 1 July 1987 are exempt, as are trustees of pre-1987 testamentary trusts unless the trust has been removed from court jurisdiction — so the first question in any dispute is whether the duty applies at all. Where a trust instrument purports to waive or limit accounting, that waiver is void if the sole trustee is a disqualified person, or a person described in section 21380 but not section 21382. When a trustee who owes the duty will not perform it, a beneficiary may petition the court under section 17200’s trust-petition procedure concerning the internal affairs of the trust, including to compel the account.
Sources: Probate Code s.16062 - Duty to account to beneficiaries · Probate Code s.17200 - Petitions concerning internal affairs of trust · Verified 2026-08-04.
Whether a trustee owes you an account depends on where you stand under the trust. What each beneficiary is entitled to sets out, position by position, who can ask for a copy of the trust, for information and for an account.
What an accounting has to show
| Element | What you should be able to see |
|---|---|
| Opening position | What the trust held at the start of the period, at value |
| Receipts | Receipts of principal and income during the accounting period |
| Disbursements | Disbursements of principal and income during the accounting period, and to whom |
| Trustee compensation | What the trustee paid themselves, separately stated |
| Agents hired | Who was engaged, their relationship to the trustee, and what they were paid |
| Closing position | Assets and liabilities at the end of the accounting period |
| Court review | The required statement that the recipient may petition under section 17200 for review of the account and trustee acts |
| Claims warning | The statutory warning about the three-year period after receiving an account or report disclosing claim facts, subject to section 16461(h) |
The statutory contents of an account are set by Probate Code section 16063. Editorially checked 21 September 2026.
What silence usually means
Missing accounts, unanswered requests or an unexplained distribution can justify closer review. Whether a breach occurred depends on the applicable duty, beneficiary status, statutory exceptions and the facts; a delay alone does not establish liability.
A trustee who has stopped communicating may also be failing to keep beneficiaries reasonably informed — see what to do when the trustee will not talk to you, and when a court will remove one.
An accounting tests how the trust is being run. If the doubt is whether the trust or a late amendment is valid at all, that is a trust contest, which runs on its own deadline.
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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.
- Probate Code section 16062
- Duty to account to beneficiaries. Read section 16062
- Probate Code section 16063
- Contents of an account. Read section 16063
- Probate Code section 16064
- When the duty to account does not apply. Read section 16064
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 16461
- Exculpation of a trustee by the trust instrument. Where section 16461 is explained
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