How Do I Request a Trust Accounting?
A Step-by-Step California Course for Beneficiaries Seeking Answers About Trust and Estate Finances
$97 | Four Modules | Self-Paced Online Course
Your parent has passed away, and you have questions about the trust.
What assets were there? Was the family home sold? Where did the money go? How much, if anything, remains?
Maybe you've asked the trustee for information and received vague answers—or no response at all.
You want answers, but you don't know where to begin.
This course walks you through the process of requesting a trust accounting, following up when you don't receive answers, and preparing, filing, and serving a petition to compel an accounting when appropriate.
You'll learn how to take each step, understand what comes next, and approach the process as a self-represented litigant.
What You'll Learn
This course takes you through the process of requesting a trust accounting in California, from your initial request through potential court proceedings.
You'll learn how to:
- Understand whether you may be entitled to a trust accounting.
- Prepare a formal written request and establish a paper trail.
- Follow up when the trustee delays, refuses, or provides an incomplete response.
- Prepare a petition asking the court to compel an accounting.
- Navigate the filing and service process.
- Understand what may happen after your petition is filed.
What's Inside the Course?
Module 1: Start Here — Welcome & Course Overview
Get oriented to the course, understand the accounting process, and learn how to approach the lessons.
Module 2: Formal Requests — Building Your Paper Trail
Learn how to prepare a written request for an accounting and document your communications with the trustee.
Module 3: Follow-Ups, Delays, and Trustee Responses
Explore how to respond when your requests go unanswered, the trustee delays, or the information provided doesn't address your questions.
Module 4: Petitioning the Court to Compel an Accounting
Learn how to prepare a petition asking the California probate court to order a trustee to provide an accounting, including the information and supporting documentation you may need.
Module 5: Filing and Serving Your Petition
Understand the procedural steps involved in filing your petition with the court and providing legally required notice to the appropriate parties.
Module 6: Next Steps
Learn what may happen after filing and serving your petition, including potential responses, court proceedings, and additional steps that may be necessary.
Who Is This Course For?
This course is designed for people navigating California trust matters who want to understand their rights and take practical steps toward obtaining financial information.
It may be particularly helpful if you're a beneficiary who hasn't received an accounting, you've asked a trustee for information without receiving a meaningful response, or you're considering petitioning the court without an attorney.
Not sure whether you have the right to request an accounting?
Take the free Can I Request a Trust Accounting? quiz to explore whether you may meet the requirements based on your circumstances.
Why I Created This Course
When my mother passed away, my siblings and I knew there was a trust. We knew certain assets existed. But we didn't know what had happened to them.
We wanted to understand where the money went. At first, I thought getting answers would be as simple as asking the right questions. It wasn't.
I learned that asking for information and having the legal right to compel someone to provide it are two different things. I also learned that knowing the process matters.
I created this course to help other self-represented individuals understand the steps involved in requesting an accounting, including what to do when asking isn't enough.
I'm an educator, not an attorney. My goal is to make a complicated process easier to understand so you can make informed decisions about your own situation.
— Angelique Hamane
Ready to Get Started?
Take the next step toward getting the financial information you're seeking.