How to Dissolve and Close a Trust

California Trust Law – How to Close a Trust in California

HESS-VERDON IS YOUR #1 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TRUST & ESTATE LAW FIRM

If a California Trustor has recently died and left a trust, a successor trustee will need to know how to close California’s trust. Now, depending on the type of trust will determine the steps to dissolve the trust.

Let’s get a few facts out at the beginning. Trusts are divided into two camps—revocable and irrevocable Trusts. Once a trustor dies, the revocable converts to “irrevocable,” meaning you can no longer change it. The successor trustee now enters the picture to consolidate all the deceased’s assets, bank accounts, etc., and update all beneficiaries on the steps they will take. Transparency is the key to a successful trust administration process.

Legal Help for Terminating a Trust

Terminating an active trust requires court intervention or unanimous beneficiary consent. A party with legal standing must demonstrate compelling reasons for a judge to order dissolution, or alternatively, all beneficiaries must concur on ending the trust, ensuring adherence to the trust’s purpose and legal procedures.

How Do You Close a Trust Administration and Prepare to Make the Final Distribution?

As a Trustee, you first want to get the original trust document (called a trust instrument). Please read it in full, compile all beneficiaries’ names, draft a letter updating all beneficiaries on your pertinent information, and plan to complete and dissolve/close the trust via a trust administration process. You will want to ensure the beneficiaries feel confident you will follow the trust document in full and follow your fiduciary duty.

After you update all the beneficiaries, etc., you will have to gather all the estate assets and protect them from someone stealing and misappropriating. The bottom line, there are many steps throughout the trust administration process.

Choosing the Right Trust & Estate Planning Attorney to Help Dissolve the Trust

Hess-Verdon is the Right Trust Estate Litigation Law Firm.

When searching for a Trust Litigation Attorney, Hess-Verdon & Associates is a top Southern California trusts and estate law firm in California at both the trial and appellate levels. Our law firm is well-versed in estate planning, trust administration, and litigation. We believe in aggressive legal representation with an expert team that protects you, our preferred client, with current tax and estate planning and trust litigation strategies.

Hess-Verdon welcomes the opportunity to discuss your case, our staffing approaches, qualifications, and rate structures. Our goal is toward the successful resolution of estate and trust-related matters. Call 949-706-7300.

How to dissolve a trust

To dissolve a trust, either a court petition must be filed by an interested party, substantiated by convincing evidence for judicial approval, or all beneficiaries must concur in the trust’s termination.

Closing a trust

To close an early trust, all beneficiaries must agree. Although trusts are generally designed to operate without court oversight, legal approval may sometimes be needed in certain situations to ensure all actions comply with trust terms and beneficiary rights.

How to close a trust

Closing a trust typically requires either court permission or unanimous agreement by all beneficiaries. To pursue court closure, an eligible party must petition the court with sufficient evidence supporting its dissolution; alternatively, all beneficiaries can agree unanimously and the trust can be terminated without court intervention.