In California, the creator of a revocable trust, called a Settlor or Trustor, usually administers the trust first. In this situation, trust administration is often so informal it’s almost nonexistent. While the Settlor is also a Trustee, no other person has a right to make any demand on the Settlor as Trustee. This includes a demand for an accounting, a demand for a disclosure of trust terms, or a demand that the trustee take or not take any action.

But, when the Settlor of the trust passes and then a third party becomes Trustee of a revocable trust (Successor Trustee), formalities of trust administration must be observed. This trustee is bound to comply with the terms of the trust. Choose this person wisely.

As recently reported here , a complaint alleges that a trustee took $4.2 million from the two trust funds. One account was put in trust to pay for the expenses of the 77-year-old widow with Alzheimer’s and a second account to grant scholarships to help high school graduates pay for college. the complaint alleges that this money was spent on a BMW, private jet rental, casino gambling, and a vacation home.

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