What the law says
A beneficiary's right to information is one of the few trust rights that does not depend on proving anything went wrong. Probate Code section 16060 requires a trustee to keep the beneficiaries reasonably informed of the trust and its administration. Section 16061 requires the trustee to answer a beneficiary's reasonable request for information about the trust's terms and administration. Section 16061.7 requires the trustee to give notice when the trust becomes irrevocable and to provide a copy of the trust terms on request.
Section 16062 requires an accounting at least once a year, when the trust terminates, and when there is a change of trustee. Section 16063 spells out what the accounting must contain: receipts, disbursements, assets and liabilities, the trustee's compensation, agents hired by the trustee, and a statement that the beneficiary has three years to object to anything the accounting discloses. Section 16064 lists the exceptions, including a waiver in the trust document itself, but even where the trust waives accountings a court can order one when there is reason to believe the trustee has breached the trust.
When a trustee refuses, Probate Code section 17200 lets a beneficiary petition the court to compel an accounting or the release of information. Under section 17200(b)(7), the beneficiary must first make a written request and give the trustee 60 days to respond.
What you can do
Make the request in writing, keep a copy, and note the date. Ask for the trust and all amendments, the most recent accounting, and the records behind it: bank and brokerage statements, property records, and the trustee's fee calculations. A polite, specific letter is enough. Sixty days later, if the trustee has not responded, the petition to compel can be filed.
While you wait, gather what you can on your own. Property records are public. If the trust owns a business, its filings are public. Family members often have old statements or letters from the trustee that show what the trust held at the beginning.
When the accounting arrives, read it carefully and quickly. Compare the opening balances to what you know the trust held. Look at the disbursements for payments to the trustee, to the trustee's family, or to vendors nobody recognizes. Objections to an accounting are filed with the court, and they are the vehicle for surcharging a trustee for any loss the accounting reveals.
How fast you need to move
Two clocks run in opposite directions. The trustee's clock is 60 days from your written request before you can petition the court. Your clock starts when an accounting arrives: claims based on anything it adequately discloses expire three years later under Probate Code section 16460, and if the trustee has filed the accounting with the court, objections are due by the date the court sets, which can be much sooner.
There is also a practical clock. A trustee who will not account is often a trustee who has something to account for, and the money is easier to recover while it is still in the trust.
How we handle these cases in Santa Clara County
We send the written demand ourselves, drafted to track the statute so the trustee cannot claim it was unclear. If the trustee stalls, the petition to compel is ready on day 61. Petitions are filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court in San Jose, or in the county where the trust is administered.
When the accounting arrives, we audit it. Legion, the AI litigation platform our founder co-founded, lets us reconcile an accounting against years of bank and brokerage statements in days. That audit becomes the objections, and the objections become the surcharge claim if the numbers do not hold up.
Where a trustee has refused to account without a good reason, we ask the court to charge the trustee personally with the cost of forcing the accounting.
Common situations
- The trustee says the trust waives accountings. Many do. The waiver does not end the duty to keep you informed, and a court can order an accounting anyway when there is reason to think something went wrong.
- The accounting is a one-page summary with no statements. That is not an accounting under section 16063. Ask for the records and object if they do not come.
- The trustee says you are not a beneficiary and are not entitled to anything. If you are named in the trust, or would inherit if the trust failed, you are entitled to see it. That question itself can be put to the court.
- The trustee is a sibling and treats questions as an attack. The duty to inform does not depend on the trustee's feelings. A written request and a 60-day wait take the personal element out of it.
Am I too late?
How long do I have?
General information, not legal advice. Confirm your dates with a lawyer.
Questions people ask about accountings & information
Am I entitled to see the trust?
If you are a beneficiary or an heir of the person who made the trust, yes. Once the trust becomes irrevocable, the trustee must provide a copy of the terms on request (Probate Code section 16061.7).
How often must a trustee account?
At least once a year, when the trust ends, and when a trustee changes (Probate Code section 16062). The trust document can waive some of this, but a court can still order an accounting when there is reason to.
What if the accounting looks wrong?
You can file objections and ask the court to surcharge the trustee for any loss. Do it promptly; an accounting that fairly discloses a problem starts a three-year limit on claims about it.
Can a trustee refuse to give me information because I am contesting the trust?
No. The duty to inform does not switch off because you disagree with the trustee. A court can compel the information and, where the refusal is unreasonable, charge the trustee with the cost.
This page is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not make you a client of Rothrock Legal. No attorney-client relationship exists until an engagement letter is signed. Deadlines depend on your facts and change; confirm yours with a lawyer.
