014: What Every Trustee Needs to Know About Managing a Trust in California

Becoming a trustee after losing a loved one is stressful enough without also discovering you have a legal minefield to cross. In this episode, DeDe Soto breaks down California trust administration from the ground up, covering what it actually means to hold a fiduciary title, how to gather and transfer assets, when to send notice to beneficiaries, and why distributing money too early can leave a trustee personally liable.

Trustees who skip the details, like getting appraisals at date of death, filing the right tax returns, or sending legally required notices, often end up cleaning up expensive messes that proper guidance could have prevented. DeDe’s advice is direct: call an attorney early, because the liability is real and the margin for error is thin.

In this episode, you will hear:

• What it means to hold a fiduciary title as a trustee in California
• The first steps after being named a successor trustee, from reviewing trust documents to notifying beneficiaries
• Why sending the 120-day notice to heirs and beneficiaries is one of the most critical early moves
• Common trustee mistakes, including commingling funds, skipping appraisals, and making distributions too early
• How to identify, gather, and transfer trust assets using a certificate of trust
• Tax responsibilities during trust administration, including final personal returns, annual trust returns, and gift tax filings
• When to bring in a trust administration attorney and what red flags signal a more complex case

Resources from this Episode

https://www.thesotolawgroup.com/trust-administration

https://www.thesotolawgroup.com/contact-us-newport-beach-lawyers

Phone: 949-629-4569

Address:

The Soto Law Group
4041 MacArthur Boulevard, Suite #200
Newport Beach, CA 92660

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