California Trust Administration Checklist After a Death

A revocable living trust does not eliminate work after someone dies — it redirects it. Instead of a Superior Court managing the process over 12 to 24 months, the successor trustee manages it privately on a timeline dictated by statute, not a court calendar. That is a significant advantage, but only if the trustee understands and meets the mandatory deadlines. Miss the 60-day trust notification, and the trust is permanently vulnerable to legal contest.

This checklist covers the core duties of a California successor trustee in the months following the settlor's death.

Step 1: Confirm the Trust and Your Authority (Days 1–10)

Your first job is to locate the original trust document and any amendments. Read it carefully. Identify:

• Who the named successor trustees are and in what order
• Who the beneficiaries are
• Whether any co-trustee arrangement applies
• What distributions or specific bequests the trust directs

Obtain a Certification of Trust — a shortened version of the full trust document that confirms the trust's existence, your authority as trustee, and the trust's powers, without disclosing the full distribution plan to third parties. Financial institutions and real estate title companies will want this document rather than the full trust. California Probate Code Section 18100.5 governs certifications of trust and specifies what must be included.

Step 2: Obtain Certified Death Certificates (Days 1–10)

Order at least 8 to 10 certified authorized death certificates from the county recorder or the California Department of Public Health. As of 2026, each copy costs $26 under AB 64. Every financial institution and the county recorder will require an original certified copy — they will not accept photocopies.

Trust administration typically requires fewer certified copies than full probate (there is no court requiring certified copies of Letters), but the count still adds up quickly across all bank accounts, investment accounts, real estate transfers, and agency notifications.

Step 3: File the 60-Day Trust Notification — This Is the Most Critical Deadline

Under California Probate Code Section 16061.7, the successor trustee must serve a formal written notification on all trust beneficiaries and all heirs-at-law of the settlor within 60 days of the date the trust became irrevocable (which is the date of death for a revocable living trust).

This notification must include:

• The name and date of the trust
• The name of the settlor
• The address of the trustee
• The notification that the recipient has the right to receive a copy of the trust

Once beneficiaries receive this notice, they have 120 days to contest the trust. If the notice is never sent, the 120-day contest window never starts. This means the trust remains permanently open to legal challenge with no statute of limitations protection — a significant liability.

Failure to send the notice also constitutes a breach of fiduciary duty. If a beneficiary later claims they were harmed by not receiving the notification, the trustee can face personal financial liability.

Send the notice by certified mail and keep the return receipts as evidence of delivery.

Step 4: Get a Federal Tax ID for the Trust (Days 10–30)

The decedent's Social Security Number was used during their lifetime for the revocable trust. Once the settlor dies, the trust becomes irrevocable and requires its own Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS.

Apply online at IRS.gov using Form SS-4. The IRS issues EINs immediately through the online system. You will need the EIN to open an estate checking account, file the trust's tax returns, and provide to financial institutions holding trust assets.

Step 5: Notify Government Agencies (Days 10–30)

Several government agencies must be notified of the death regardless of whether assets pass through probate or a trust:

Social Security Administration: Contact SSA to stop benefit payments and, if applicable, claim the $255 lump-sum death payment (available to a surviving spouse or eligible minor child who was living with the decedent).

Department of Health Care Services (DHCS): If the decedent was a Medi-Cal recipient who was 55 or older at any point during their Medi-Cal coverage, you must send Form DHCS 9060 (Notice of Death) to the DHCS Estate Recovery Unit in Sacramento within 90 days of the death. Even though trust assets are generally protected from Medi-Cal recovery (recovery is limited to probate assets under California law for deaths after January 1, 2017), the notice is still legally required.

Franchise Tax Board and IRS: A final individual income tax return (Form 1040) must be filed for the decedent. If the trust generates income after the date of death, a separate fiduciary income tax return (FTB Form 541 and IRS Form 1041) may be required.

Step 6: Take Inventory and Secure Trust Assets (Days 10–60)

Identify and document every trust asset. This includes:

• Real estate titled in the trust's name
• Bank and investment accounts held by or titled to the trust
• Personal property specifically transferred to the trust

For any account or asset not already titled in the trust's name, determine whether it qualifies for a simplified transfer procedure or must go through probate. The most common surprise at this stage is the "unfunded" trust — the settlor created the trust but never transferred the house, or opened a new bank account after forming the trust and did not add it. Assets that are not in the trust at death may be subject to the small estate affidavit procedure or, if the estate is large enough, full probate.

For real estate: verify that each property's deed shows the trust as the owner. If a property is not in the trust, consult an attorney about a Heggstad Petition (Probate Code Section 850) to potentially bring it under trust administration without full probate.

Step 7: Real Estate — PCOR and Proposition 19 Compliance

When you record any deed transferring real estate from the trust to a beneficiary, you must file the Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (PCOR, Form BOE-502-A) with the county recorder at the time of recording.

If the real estate is a parent's primary residence being transferred to a child, the child must:

1. Establish the property as their own primary residence within one year of the transfer
2. File Form BOE-19-P (Claim for Reassessment Exclusion for Transfer Between Parent and Child) with the county assessor

Failing either of these steps means the property is reassessed to full current market value, potentially increasing annual property taxes by thousands of dollars permanently.

Step 8: Manage Trust Income and Pay Debts (Months 1–6)

While the trust administration is ongoing:

• Open a separate trust checking account using the trust's EIN
• Route all trust income (rent, dividends, interest) through this account
• Pay the decedent's final bills, outstanding debts, and administrative costs from this account
• Keep detailed records of every transaction — you will need these for the final accounting to beneficiaries

Unlike formal probate, trust administration does not have a formal creditor notification and claim period. This means creditors can potentially pursue assets longer — and trustees must exercise care to address known debts before distributing to beneficiaries.

Step 9: File Required Tax Returns (Months 6–12)

Final individual tax return (Form 1040): Due by April 15 of the year following the death (or October 15 with extension). Reports income from January 1 of the year of death through the date of death.

Fiduciary income tax return (FTB Form 541 / IRS Form 1041): Required if the trust generates more than $600 in gross income during the tax year after the date of death. California requires FTB Form 541 if gross income exceeds $10,000 or net income exceeds $1,000. These returns report income earned by the trust as a separate taxable entity.

A CPA with trust and estate experience is strongly recommended for these returns.

Step 10: Distribute Assets and Close the Trust

Once debts are paid, taxes filed, and the trust notification period has run, you can make distributions according to the trust's terms. Provide a written accounting to beneficiaries showing all assets, income, expenses, and distributions.

Get signed receipts from each beneficiary acknowledging they received their distribution. This protects you as trustee against future claims.

Once all assets are distributed and accounts are closed, the trust is effectively terminated. No court filing is needed to close a trust in California — it simply ceases to exist when fully distributed.

The California Estate Settlement Guide includes a Trust Administration Timeline Tracker covering each of these deadlines, including the 60-day notice, the 120-day contest window, and the Proposition 19 one-year move-in requirement. These are the dates that determine whether the administration goes smoothly or gets derailed by a legal challenge.

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