Someone has died. They had a trust. You are the Successor Trustee.
First: condolences. This is a hard time.
But: there’s work to do, and there are deadlines. California law imposes real obligations on successor trustees — the sooner you reach out, the more options you have.
The good news: if the trust was properly set up and funded, this process is private, handled in an attorney’s office, and doesn’t involve a courtroom. Marina has been helping Successor Trustees do their jobs well since 2010.
How Long Does It Take?
California law requires a 120-day creditor notification period, which sets a practical floor. Most trust administrations are completed within four to nine months. Court petitions may add time depending on court schedules.
What Happens During Trust Administration?
No two trust administrations are alike, and they frequently evolve as new facts emerge. Marina handles the legal work and is available throughout as issues come up — and they usually do. You, as Successor Trustee, handle the execution on the ground.
The process typically looks like this:
- Free 15-minute consultation by phone or Zoom. You explain your situation, and if it’s the right fit, you start working with Marina.
- You sign Marina’s fee agreement and submit the required retainer. Trust administration is billed hourly — not flat fee — because no two cases are the same and the scope often changes as the process unfolds.
- You send Marina all of the decedent’s Estate Planning documents. Marina reviews them and summarizes them for you in plain terms — these govern the entire project and both of you need to understand exactly what they say.
- Marina prepares and sends all legally required notices and forms.
- You gather the decedent’s assets and pay off liabilities, with Marina available when something unexpected comes up.
- Marina helps you distribute the remaining assets to the beneficiaries, and your job as Successor Trustee is complete.
Missing steps — or taking them out of order — can create personal liability. If you’re not sure where to start, start with a call to Marina.
Set up a free consultation todayWhat If Some Assets Were Outside the Trust?
This comes up constantly. A bank account opened after the trust was signed. A house accidentally removed from the trust during a refinance. An inheritance that never got transferred in. Sometimes we know of such situations before we start the administration process, but more frequently it’s discovered later.
These assets can’t be distributed by the successor trustee directly. But they don’t automatically mean full probate either. Depending on the asset and the circumstances, there are legal procedures that can resolve this — including court petitions that Marina handles regularly.
Heggstad and Other Court Petitions
Sometimes trust administration requires a specific court petition — not a full probate process, but a targeted legal tool to fix a specific problem:
• Heggstad Petition — to bring assets into the trust that were accidentally left out
• Trust Reformation Petition — to correct errors or ambiguities in the trust document
• Petition to Determine Succession — when there’s a genuine question about who inherits
Marina does this kind of work frequently, and is usually successful. A court petition during trust administration doesn’t mean something went terribly wrong — it means that while there was a glitch in the administration, a legal solution is available, and Marina knows how to find it.
Set up a free consultation today