Successor Trustee Checklist

This checklist is for the person who has just learned they are the successor trustee of a parent's, spouse's or relative's living trust, often in the same weeks as the funeral, with siblings or other family asking what happens now. Most people facing this process have never read a trust document closely, do not know which tasks have a legal deadline, and worry about getting something wrong in front of family. The tasks below follow the order they usually happen in California, with the deadlines the law sets and the points where a licensed professional usually steps in. For the wider picture of how an estate is settled, the California estate settlement guide covers probate and the simplified procedures as well.

Before You Start: What a Successor Trustee Is and What the Job Requires

A successor trustee is the person the trust names to take over managing and distributing the trust's property when the original trustee dies or can no longer serve.

• Learn how the role differs from an executor's. An executor handles the probate estate under a will, while a successor trustee handles property held in the trust, and one person may hold both roles.
• Separate the trustee's role from a beneficiary's. The California Franchise Tax Board's Estates and trusts page describes a trustee as someone responsible for managing property for someone else, the beneficiary, who receives property from the trust.
• Find the complete trust document. The original trust and every amendment or restatement together make up the terms the trustee follows.
• Order certified copies of the death certificate. The county vital records office issues them, and banks, the county recorder and other offices each usually ask for one.
• Check whether the trust requires a written acceptance. Some trusts set out how a successor accepts the role, and the trustee's duties begin on acceptance.
• Deliver any original will to the court if you hold it. Under Probate Code section 8200, the custodian of a will must, within 30 days after learning of the death and unless a probate petition is filed earlier, deliver it to the clerk of the superior court and deliver a copy to the named executor or, if the executor cannot be located, to a named beneficiary.

The successor trustee's authority comes from the trust document, not from a court appointment, so no probate filing is generally needed to begin trust administration. When no family member is willing or able to serve, a professional fiduciary licensed by California's Professional Fiduciaries Bureau can serve as successor trustee if the trust's terms provide for it or, under Prob. Code § 15660, if a court appoints one on petition when the vacancy is not otherwise filled. Beneficiaries' agreement alone cannot install an individual fiduciary: § 15660 lets all adult beneficiaries receiving or entitled to income, or to principal if the trust then ended, agree only to a trust company that has accepted the trust.

Step 1: Read the Trust Document and Identify What It Controls

The trust document is the rulebook for everything that follows.

• Start by reading the trust's terms. Probate Code section 16000 provides that on acceptance the trustee has a duty to administer the trust according to the trust instrument and, except where the instrument provides otherwise, according to California's trust law.
• Note the trust's name and date. These identify the trust on notices, bank paperwork and deeds.
• List every amendment and restatement. A later amendment can change who receives what, so the trustee works from the most recent combined terms.
• Write down each named beneficiary. The beneficiary list drives the notice in Step 2 and the distribution in Step 8.
• Mark any special conditions. Age requirements, health-related terms and spendthrift provisions (limits on a beneficiary's ability to sign away a future share) change how and when a share is paid.
• List the assets the trust says it holds. Real property, financial accounts, business interests and personal property may all be named or scheduled.
• Look for a pour-over will. A pour-over will directs property in the decedent's own name into the trust at death, and that property usually goes through probate or a simplified procedure first.
• Make a working copy of the trust. The original stays in a safe place, and the copy is the one marked up.

Property titled in the trust's name passes under the trust. Property in the decedent's individual name is a separate question, answered by its value and type, which Step 3 returns to.

Step 2: Notify Beneficiaries and Heirs — The 60-Day Requirement

California sets a firm deadline here: Probate Code section 16061.7 requires a notification by the trustee within 60 days after the event that triggers it, and a death that makes a revocable trust irrevocable is one of those events.

• Confirm the date the 60 days began. The notice is due within 60 days after the death that made the trust irrevocable, or within 60 days after the trustee learns of a person entitled to notice who was unknown when the death occurred, and if the office of trustee was vacant, the 60 days start when the new trustee begins to serve.
• Prepare the list of beneficiaries to notify. Each beneficiary of the now-irrevocable trust is entitled to the notice, subject to limits found elsewhere in the Probate Code.
• Identify the decedent's heirs. Heirs are the people who would inherit under California law if there were no will or trust, and the trustee may rely on a final court determination of heirship or make a good-faith determination by reasonable means.
• Add the Attorney General if the trust is charitable. A charitable trust under the Attorney General's supervision requires notice to that office.
• Draft the notice with every required item. The statute's list is set out in the paragraph below this checklist.
• Include the contest warning in boldface. The statute requires a separate paragraph in at least 10-point bold type stating the time limit for bringing an action to contest the trust.
• Serve the notice to each last known address. The notice is served by a method the Probate Code allows, and an attorney can confirm which method fits.
• Keep proof of each mailing or delivery. The service date starts the contest period for that person.

The notice must contain: the identity of the settlor (the person who created the trust) and the date the trust was signed; the name, address and telephone number of each trustee; the address of the trust's principal place of administration; any additional information the trust itself requires; and a statement that the recipient may, on reasonable request, receive a true and complete copy of the trust's terms. A trustee need not send notice to a beneficiary or heir who cannot be located after reasonable diligence or who is unknown to the trustee, and the settlor's waiver of the notice is void.

Under Probate Code section 16061.8, a person served with this notice may not bring an action to contest the trust more than 120 days after service, or 60 days after a copy of the trust's terms is delivered to that person during that 120-day period, whichever is later. How a contest works is a litigation subject this checklist does not cover.

Step 3: Secure and Inventory Trust Assets

Protecting what the decedent left comes before deciding what to do with any of it.

• Change the locks on a vacant house. A home that sits empty is exposed, and keys may be held by people outside the family.
• Keep property insurance in force. Insurers usually need notice of the death and that the home is vacant.
• Hold off on distributing or selling anything. Nothing leaves the trust until the inventory and the debts are known.
• List each parcel of real property by address and APN. The assessor's parcel number appears on the property tax bill and the recorded deed.
• List each bank and brokerage account by institution and number. Statements show whether an account is titled in the trust's name.
• List vehicles, business interests and valuable personal property. Tangible items such as jewelry, art and collections belong on the list when the trust holds them.
• Record insurance and retirement accounts naming the trust as beneficiary. These pay to the trust by beneficiary designation rather than by title.
• Obtain date-of-death values for each asset. Financial institutions supply date-of-death statements, and a California-licensed appraiser usually values real property (a professional task).
• File the statements, deeds and appraisals with the inventory. The accounting in Step 7 is built from these records.

Date-of-death values matter for income tax. Under 26 U.S.C. § 1014(a), the basis (the starting figure used to measure gain when property is sold) of property acquired from a decedent is generally its fair market value at the date of death, subject to the exceptions in that section, and the statute treats property in a trust the decedent could revoke as acquired from the decedent. A CPA, an enrolled agent or a tax attorney reviews how this applies to each asset.

Property outside the trust is not part of the trustee's inventory. A joint account generally belongs to the surviving party, and a payable-on-death account to the named payee, under Probate Code section 5302. Property in the decedent's own name may need probate or a simplified procedure such as the affidavit for collection or transfer of personal property, which Probate Code section 13100 allows once 40 days have passed since the death and the estate is under a value limit that is adjusted periodically, or the affidavit for real property of small value. The California Courts publish the current limits. Under Probate Code section 13050, property in a trust the decedent could revoke is excluded when that value is measured.

Step 4: Open a Trust Bank Account and Manage Trust Finances

Keeping the trust's money separate from the trustee's own money is one of the first practical duties.

• Apply for an EIN for the trust. A revocable trust that became irrevocable at the death usually needs its own federal Employer Identification Number from the IRS.
• Open a bank account in the trust's name. Trust funds stay out of the trustee's personal accounts, because mixing them (commingling) is a breach of the trustee's duty.
• Redirect rent, dividends and interest to the trust account. Income earned by trust property belongs to the trust.
• Pay the mortgage, insurance and utilities from the trust account. Expenses of trust property come from trust funds.
• Record every receipt and payment. Each entry shows the date, the amount, the payer or payee and the purpose.
• Document any personal advance for a trust expense. A reimbursement is easier to show in the accounting when the receipt is kept.
• Ask a CPA about the trust's income tax returns. The Franchise Tax Board's page says a trust uses Form 541, and a trustee may have to file when the trust meets residency or income-source conditions and its gross income is over $10,000 or its net income is over $100.

The trustee's personal bills are never paid from trust funds. Federal trust income tax filings are prepared alongside the California return, which is why a CPA or enrolled agent usually handles both.

Step 5: Identify and Pay Valid Debts, Taxes, and Expenses

This is the step many trustees feel most exposed on, because siblings often want their shares while the bills are still arriving.

• Gather the decedent's mail and financial records. Statements reveal mortgages, credit cards, medical bills, personal loans and any judgments.
• List each debt with its creditor and balance. A single list makes it possible to see what the trust may owe.
• Ask an attorney which debts the trust pays. A revocable living trust does not automatically shield its assets from the settlor's creditors.
• Reserve funds before any distribution. A trustee who distributes and leaves known debts unpaid can be personally responsible for them.
• Pay property tax on trust real property on time. Property tax keeps accruing on trust real estate during administration.
• Have the decedent's final income tax returns prepared. A CPA or enrolled agent usually prepares the returns for the decedent's last year (a professional task).
• Ask a tax professional whether federal estate tax applies. Whether an estate is above the federal exemption is a question for a tax attorney or CPA.

A property tax question also arises when a child inherits a parent's home. The reassessment exclusion and its deadlines are set out in Step 6, where the real property tasks belong.

Step 6: Handle Real Property Held in the Trust

Real property follows its own rules. A house or land transfers by a recorded deed and has its own property tax filings, while personal property such as accounts, vehicles and household items moves by different paperwork.

• Pull the recorded deed from the county recorder. The deed shows whether title is held by the trust, and property not titled in the trust may not be a trust asset.
• Tell the county assessor about the change in ownership. The State Board of Equalization's Change in Ownership FAQ says that when ownership changes because of a death and there is no probate, the assessor is informed within 150 days of the date of death.
• Prepare a trustee's deed for any transfer to a beneficiary. The trustee signs a new deed and records it in the county where the property sits, usually with an attorney or title company (a professional task).
• File a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report with the deed. The same BOE page says recorded deeds must be accompanied by a PCOR, and a county recorder may charge a $20 fee if it is filed later.
• Check whether a parent-child exclusion may apply. Rev. & Tax. Code section 63.2 can keep a family home from being reassessed when a parent's principal residence passes to a child, under the conditions in the paragraph below.
• File the exclusion claim with the county assessor. The BOE's Proposition 19 Fact Sheet names the claim form as BOE-19-P.
• Contact the lender about any mortgage. A lender or real estate attorney can say how the loan's terms and federal law apply.
• Read the trust's power of sale before any sale. The trust document states whether and how the trustee may sell, and an attorney can say whether any court step applies.

For a transfer on or after February 16, 2021, Rev. & Tax. Code section 63.2 excludes from reassessment a parent's principal residence that becomes the child's principal residence within one year of the transfer, where the child files for the homeowners' or disabled veterans' exemption within a year. The exclusion is full only if the home's market value is less than its taxable value just before the transfer plus a limit set by law; above that, the difference is added to the taxable value. A grandchild may qualify only if all of the grandchild's parents, other than stepparents, who are the grandparents' children are deceased as of the date of the transfer. The claim is due within three years after the transfer, or before a transfer to a third party, or before the child stops living there, whichever is earlier; a claim filed within six months after the mailing of a supplemental or escape assessment notice also counts as timely. A late claim, while the child still owns the home, gives relief only from the lien date of the year it is filed. When a parent dies, the BOE fact sheet says, the date of death is the date of transfer.

The exclusion has a value limit: the home's taxable value plus $1,000,000, adjusted every other year. The BOE fact sheet gives the adjusted amount as $1,044,586 for transfers from February 16, 2025, through February 15, 2027, and any value above the limit is added to the taxable value. The BOE's Proposition 19 page says a rental home does not qualify. The BOE's Letter To Assessors No. 2026/026 says a trust is looked through to find who has beneficial ownership, so property held in a trust can qualify. The county assessor's office reviews each claim.

On a mortgage, 12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3(d) bars a lender from enforcing a due-on-sale clause on residential property of fewer than five units for listed transfers, including a transfer to a relative resulting from the borrower's death and a transfer where the borrower's spouse or children become owners. The choice among keeping, renting and selling is a family decision, and the guide on keeping, renting or selling an inherited house compares those paths.

Step 7: Account to Beneficiaries

An accounting is the written report of what the trustee received, spent and still holds.

• Find out who is owed an accounting. Probate Code section 16062 generally requires the trustee to account to each beneficiary to whom income or principal is required, or authorized in the trustee's discretion, to be currently distributed.
• Note when an accounting is due. The same section requires one at least annually, at the termination of the trust, and upon a change of trustee, subject to its exceptions.
• Read what the trust says about accountings. A trust may limit or waive the duty, though the statute makes such a waiver void for certain sole trustees.
• List the assets on hand at the start of the period. The opening figures come from the Step 3 inventory.
• Show every receipt, disbursement, gain and loss. The Step 4 records supply these entries.
• Show the assets remaining at the end. The closing figures carry into the next accounting or the final distribution.
• Keep bank statements, receipts and tax returns with it. Beneficiaries may ask to see what supports an entry.
• Ask a CPA or professional fiduciary to prepare a complex accounting. An attorney often reviews it before it goes out (a professional task).

Beneficiaries have the right to review the accounting and raise objections. An objection the family cannot resolve becomes a matter for the California Superior Court and an attorney who handles trust litigation.

Step 8: Distribute Assets to Beneficiaries and Close the Trust

Distribution is the point at which the trust's instructions are finally carried out.

• Confirm that debts, taxes and expenses are paid or reserved. Distribution waits until these are settled.
• Distribute specific gifts first. A specific gift is a named item or amount to a named person.
• Distribute the residue under the residuary clause. The residue is whatever remains after specific gifts, debts and expenses.
• Prepare a certification of trust for institutions. Probate Code section 18100.5 lets the trustee present a certification of trust in place of a copy of the trust, as described below.
• Transfer each financial account with the certification and a death certificate. Banks and brokerages usually ask for both.
• Record a trustee's deed for each parcel going to a beneficiary. The deed is recorded in the county where the property lies.
• Transfer vehicles through the California DMV. The DMV process uses the trust and a death certificate.
• Get a signed receipt from each beneficiary. The receipt confirms what each person received and when.
• Send a final accounting to the beneficiaries. The trust document may set out its own closing procedure.
• Keep the trust records after closing. A CPA can say how long tax records are kept.

A certification of trust may confirm facts including the trust's existence and date, the settlor and current trustees, the trustee's powers, whether the trust is revocable, signing authority among cotrustees, the trust's tax identification number, how title to trust assets is taken, and the legal description of trust real property. It must state that the trust has not been revoked or changed in a way that makes it incorrect, be an acknowledged declaration signed by all currently acting trustees, and need not include the distribution terms. It may be recorded with the county recorder where trust real property is located.

Typical timeline

No single timeline fits every trust, because the length of administration depends on the assets, the debts, the tax filings and how quickly the family agrees. The fixed dates are the statutory ones. The notice in Step 2 is due within 60 days of the triggering event, and each recipient's contest period runs from the date that person is served. The BOE says a change in ownership after a death without probate is reported to the assessor within 150 days of the date of death. A Proposition 19 claim runs on its own three-year or earlier deadline, alongside the one-year occupancy and exemption filings. Accountings recur at least annually while the trust continues. The estate settlement checklist shows how these dates fit with probate deadlines when a pour-over will is also in play.

When the Job Gets Complicated: Contested Matters and Professional Help

A checklist fits a straightforward trust. Some trusts need professional guidance from the start.

Property in more than one place, or a business

Real property in several California counties means a deed and an assessor filing in each county. Property in another state is governed by that state's law. A business interest raises valuation and management questions an attorney and a CPA usually address together.

A minor or a beneficiary with a disability

A share held for a minor or for a beneficiary with a disability often stays in trust under special terms, and an attorney can explain the trustee's ongoing duties for that share.

Significant debts or creditor claims

When debts may exceed what is easy to pay, an attorney advises on which claims the trust must pay and in what order.

No one available to serve

Under Probate Code section 15660, a vacancy is filled as the trust provides; if it is not, a trust company may be appointed by agreement of all adult beneficiaries currently receiving or entitled to distributions, and otherwise the court may appoint a trustee on petition. A California-licensed professional fiduciary can serve as a neutral trustee when family conflict makes a relative's service impractical.

Disagreement or suspected misconduct

When beneficiaries dispute the trustee's actions or misconduct is suspected, that is a contested matter handled by an attorney who litigates trust and probate cases. This checklist does not cover contesting a trust or removing a trustee.

For the rest of the work, an estate planning or trust administration attorney advises on duties and liability, a CPA or enrolled agent handles trust and decedent income tax filings, a licensed appraiser values real and personal property, and a real estate attorney or title company prepares and records deeds. Silver Lining Estate is an educational resource, and its questionnaire asks a few questions and points to the guides and the kinds of professionals that fit.