Guidance for Trustees and Executors in California

You didn’t ask for this role. Someone trusted you, named you in a document, and now — usually in the middle of grief — you are legally responsible for someone else’s assets, debts, taxes, and beneficiaries. Most trustees and executors I work with start with the same two questions: “What am I supposed to do?” and “Can I get in trouble for doing it wrong?”

The answers: there is a defined process, and yes — personal liability is real, but entirely manageable with the right practices from the start.

Your Key Duties in Brief

• Follow the document — the trust or will controls, even where it is inconvenient.
• Give the required notices — including the § 16061.7 notice for trusts, on a 60-day deadline.
• Inventory and protect the assets; keep estate or trust property separate from your own.
• Handle debts, claims, and taxes before distributing.
• Account to beneficiaries and communicate — silence is where most disputes start.

Common Mistakes — and How to Avoid Them

Distributing before the creditor period ends. Mixing personal and fiduciary funds, even briefly. Selling property to a family member without documentation. Treating a difficult beneficiary differently from an easy one. Missing tax deadlines — including the property tax exclusion filings that have hard cutoffs. None of these mistakes requires bad intent; all of them create personal exposure. Each is avoidable with guidance at the right moments.

When to Contact an Attorney

Before you act — not after a problem appears. The first weeks of an administration set its trajectory: notices go out on time or late; assets get documented or don’t; beneficiaries get informed or suspicious. Counsel at the start costs a fraction of counsel in a dispute, and the trust or estate ordinarily pays for it. If you take one thing from this page: call before you distribute anything, sign anything, or sell anything.

For trust-specific detail, see Trust Administration. For court-supervised estates, see Probate. If a beneficiary has already raised claims against you, see Trustee Representation.