Discovering that a loved one’s trust is being mismanaged can be devastating. If you are a beneficiary, you have the right to take legal action. If your trustee has failed to meet their obligations, you can petition for trustee removal. In California, a trustee can be removed for a variety of reasons, including self-dealing or excessive compensation.

At Fox Law, our trust litigation attorneys represent beneficiaries seeking trustee removal and compensation for losses they have suffered due to a trustee’s breach of fiduciary duty. We also represent trustees facing removal petitions who need experienced counsel in their corner.

What Are a Trustee's Legal Duties in California?

To understand when it is appropriate to remove a trustee, it helps to understand what a trustee is actually required to do. California Probate Code §16000 et seq. sets out the fiduciary duties every trustee owes to the trust and its beneficiaries. These include:

Duty of Loyalty

A trustee must administer the trust solely in the interests of the beneficiaries—not in their own interest, not in the interest of third parties, and not in ways that benefit them financially at the trust's expense.

Duty to Administer the Trust

Once a person accepts the role of trustee, they are legally obligated to actively manage the trust. Ignoring the trust, failing to communicate with beneficiaries, or simply doing nothing is itself a breach.

Duty to Keep and Render Accounts

Trustees must keep clear records of trust assets, income, expenses, and distributions, and provide accountings to beneficiaries on a regular basis or upon request. A trustee who refuses to account or whose accounting is incomplete, inaccurate, or evasive is in breach of this duty.

Duty of Prudent Administration

Trustees must manage trust assets with the care, skill, and caution that a reasonably prudent person would exercise. This includes making sound investment decisions, avoiding unnecessary risk, and not allowing assets to deteriorate through neglect.

Duty to Deal Impartially with Beneficiaries

Where a trust has multiple beneficiaries, including both current beneficiaries receiving distributions and remainder beneficiaries who will inherit after the trust term, the trustee must balance their competing interests fairly and in accordance with the trust's terms.

Duty to Avoid Self-Dealing

A trustee cannot buy trust assets for themselves, use trust property for personal benefit, pay themselves excessive fees, or enter into transactions that benefit them at the trust's expense, even if they believe the deal is fair.

Grounds for Trustee Removal Under California Law

California Probate Code § 15642 gives courts broad authority to remove a trustee when it is in the best interests of the beneficiaries. Specific statutory grounds for removal include:

Breach of Trust

This is the broadest and most frequently invoked ground. A breach of trust encompasses mismanagement of trust property, misallocation of assets between sub-trusts, failure to make timely distributions, self-dealing, failure to account, and any other violation of the trustee's fiduciary duties. Not every mistake constitutes a breach, but systematic neglect, willful misconduct, or conduct that causes material harm to the trust typically does.

Insolvency or Financial Inability to Perform

A trustee who is personally insolvent, facing serious financial difficulties, or who has shown they are unable to manage their own finances may be removed on the grounds that they cannot responsibly manage assets belonging to others.

Failure or Unwillingness to Act

A trustee who refuses to administer the trust, consistently ignores beneficiary requests, fails to make required distributions, or is simply absent and unreachable can be removed for declining to perform their duties.

Hostility or Lack of Cooperation Among Co-trustees

Some trusts appoint multiple trustees to serve together. When co-trustees are so hostile toward each other or toward beneficiaries that they cannot function effectively, a court can remove one or more of them.

Excessive Compensation

A trustee who has paid themselves fees beyond what is reasonable under the trust terms or California law can be removed, in addition to being required to return the excess.

Unfitness, Unwillingness, or Persistent Failure to Administer

Courts retain discretion to remove a trustee where, even without an enumerated breach, the overall pattern of conduct demonstrates the trustee is unfit or unwilling to serve in that capacity.

The trust document may provide additional grounds for removing a trustee, or a non-judicial process for doing so. Reviewing the trust instrument is always a critical first step. In some cases, removal can be accomplished without court involvement at all.

Warning Signs That a Trustee May Need to Be Removed

Beneficiaries often sense something is wrong before they can articulate exactly what. Common warning signs that a trustee may be breaching their duties include:

• You haven't received an accounting, financial statements, or any meaningful update in months or years
• Distributions that should have been made under the trust terms haven't arrived, with no explanation
• The trustee is also a beneficiary and appears to be managing the trust in ways that favor their own share
• Trust assets, particularly real estate or investment accounts, appear to have declined in value due to neglect or mismanagement
• The trustee has made transfers of trust assets to themselves or to people connected to them
• The trustee refuses to provide a copy of the trust document or financial records despite repeated requests
• Communications from the trustee are evasive, inconsistent, or have simply stopped

These patterns don't automatically mean misconduct, but they are the kinds of facts courts take seriously when evaluating a petition for trustee removal.

The Trustee Removal Process in California

Removing a trustee in California is a legal proceeding filed in the probate court of the county where the trust is being administered. The party who wants to remove the trustee (typically a beneficiary, a co-trustee, or the settlor, if still living) must file a petition and demonstrate grounds for removal under Probate Code § 15642.

Courts take all of the circumstances into account, including:

• The nature and severity of the trustee's misconduct
• Whether the trustee's continued service would harm the beneficiaries, and
• Whether removal is in the best interests of the trust.

In serious cases involving active misappropriation or self-dealing, a court may issue a temporary restraining order to protect trust assets while the petition is pending.

What Happens After a Trustee is Removed?

Once a trustee is removed, the court will appoint a successor trustee. The successor trustee may be someone designated as a successor in the trust document, or a professional trustee if no suitable successor is named or available.

Removal and surcharge often go together. A trustee who is removed for breach of duty is typically also subject to a surcharge (a court order requiring the trustee to personally compensate the trust for losses caused by their misconduct). These two remedies are distinct but frequently pursued simultaneously. If you're seeking removal of a trustee, you should also evaluate whether a surcharge claim is appropriate.

Frequently Asked Questions About Removing a Trustee in California

Do I need to prove the trustee acted intentionally in order to remove them?

No. Intentional misconduct is not required. Negligent mismanagement, persistent failure to act, or a pattern of careless administration can all support removal even if the trustee didn't intend harm.

Can I remove a trustee without going to court?

Possibly. Some trust documents include a mechanism for removing a trustee by majority vote of beneficiaries, or upon the request of a co-trustee or trust protector. We review every trust instrument carefully for non-judicial removal options before recommending litigation. When available, these options are often faster and less costly.

What happens to the trust while the removal petition is pending?

The trustee typically continues serving while the petition is under consideration, but in urgent situations, where assets are actively at risk, we can seek an emergency order from the court to suspend the trustee or freeze trust assets pending resolution.

Can a removed trustee still receive fees for their prior service?

Generally yes, for legitimate services rendered before the removal. However, a trustee who was removed for breach of trust may be ordered to forfeit compensation paid during the period of misconduct and cannot use trust funds to defend against a surcharge petition if they lose.

What if the trustee is a family member?

Family trustee disputes are among the most common, and most difficult, situations we handle. Removing a sibling, aunt or uncle, or adult child from a trustee role is emotionally fraught, but the legal standard is the same: if they are breaching their duties and harming the trust, removal is a legitimate remedy. We approach these situations with both legal rigor and sensitivity to the family dynamics at play.