The 60-day clock
If a beneficiary asks in writing for an account and the trustee does not deliver one within 60 days, and no account was made in the six months before the request, the beneficiary may petition the court to compel it (Prob. Code §17200(b)(7)(C)). Separately, a trustee must account at least annually, at the termination of the trust and on a change of trustee, to each beneficiary to whom income or principal is currently distributable (§16062). Calculate your 60-day date.
When no account is owed
Exceptions include a trust that is still revocable (§16069) and a beneficiary’s valid written waiver, subject to the limits in §16064. A revocable trust is not always an exception: if no person holding the power to revoke is competent, the trustee must account to each beneficiary who would receive income or principal if the settlor had died during the account period (§§15800(b), 16069(b)). If you are unsure whether one applies, ask your attorney before the 60 days run.
What the account must contain (§16063)
- Receipts and disbursements of principal and income for the period
- Assets and liabilities at the end of the period
- The trustee’s compensation, and the agents hired, their relationship to the trustee and their compensation
- A statement that the recipient may petition the court under §17200 to obtain a court review of the account and of the acts of the trustee
- A statement that claims against the trustee for breach of trust may not be made more than three years after the beneficiary receives an account or report disclosing facts giving rise to the claim
Many trustees deliver it in the court format of §§1060–1064, which a court will expect if the account is ever filed. See a complete sample trust accounting.
A 60-day plan
- Week 1: confirm whether an exception applies; request any missing statements from every bank and brokerage for the whole period, plus the month before it.
- Weeks 2 to 3: build the account. Classify each transaction, follow carry values lot by lot, and bring both sides into balance.
- Weeks 4 to 6: review it line by line against the statements, with your attorney if there is any dispute.
- By day 60: deliver it, with the §16063 notices, and keep proof of delivery.
Generate the account with Balanced
Balanced is a new kind of software for California fiduciary accountings. From the PDF bank and brokerage statements, Balanced generates the accounting in minutes to hours, rather than the days, weeks or months of manual work it otherwise takes: transactions classified to their schedules, carry values tracked lot by lot, each account reconciled to its own statements, the summary balanced to the penny, and each entry cited to the statement and page from which it was drawn, delivered as one fully editable Excel workbook. $699 per accounting.