The Rights of a Trust Beneficiary

My name is Matthew Talbot and I am a Trust and Estate Attorney in Walnut Creek California. People often contact me as beneficiaries to Trusts. They are confused and want to learn more information and see what their rights are and what options they may have regarding these trusts. Today I want to talk about different issues that arise. In this particular video I will address how people will come to me and say: I think I'm a beneficiary to a trust or I know I am a beneficiary to a trust, but I do not have a copy of the trust. And, what do I do to get a copy of the trust? Pursuant to California Probate code, every trustee is required to give a copy of the trust, along with some basic information in what's called a trustee;s notice document, to all the beneficiaries of the trust, and also the heirs of the dead person, who is called the decedent. These are all legally defined terms. But in general, this trust package goes out to pretty much everyone relevant to the decendent. So, if you're a beneficiary to a trust, you are entitled to a copy of the trust. You are entitled to get notice of the trust and its administration. The trustee has to start a 120 day time period in which you have to potentially contest the terms of the trust. I will talk about contesting the terms of a trust in future videos, but for this video I just wanted to talk about your rights as a beneficiary.