When someone you love dies, you expect their trust or will to bring some clarity. But sometimes it raises more questions than it answers. Maybe there’s an amendment signed just weeks before they passed, a new caregiver suddenly named as the main beneficiary, or a share far smaller than the one you were always told about. If something about it doesn’t sit right with you, you deserve to know why. That’s where a California trust contest lawyer can help. David Yoshida works with beneficiaries and heirs to piece together what happened, explain what the law allows, and make sure they know how much time they have to act. He’s based in Calabasas and represents families in trust and estate disputes throughout California.
Of course, these cases are rarely just about money. They’re wrapped up in grief, in family history, and in the hard question of what your loved one really wanted. That’s why David starts by listening. From there, he walks you through your options in plain language and gives you an honest read on your case, so you can decide what’s right for you and your family.
A trust contest asks the probate court to decide whether a trust, or an amendment to it, is valid. In California, these cases are filed as a petition in the superior court, usually in the county where the trust is administered. Most cases follow the same broad path:
Every case is different, and not every concern needs a lawsuit. Sometimes the first step is simply asking the trustee for the information you are entitled to.
California’s deadlines are short, and missing one can end a case before it begins.
Contesting a trust. When the person who created the trust (called the settlor) dies, a revocable trust usually becomes irrevocable, which means it can no longer be changed. At that point, the trustee has to send a formal notice to the beneficiaries and heirs (Probate Code section 16061.7). Once you receive that notice, you generally have 120 days to file a contest. If you ask for a copy of the trust during that window, you get at least 60 days after it arrives, whichever date is later (Probate Code section 16061.8). Courts take this deadline seriously and have applied it to lawsuits that challenge the trust in practice, even when they aren’t labeled a “contest.”
Contesting a will. You can object to a will before the court accepts it into probate. Once it has been accepted (the legal term is “admitted”), anyone with an interest in the estate generally has 120 days to ask the court to revoke that approval (Probate Code section 8270).
If you’ve already received a trustee’s notice or a probate filing, the clock may be running. Talking with a California trust contest lawyer early gives you the most options.
California law recognizes several reasons a trust, will or amendment may be invalid:
California gives families extra protection when a loved one leaves a gift to certain people who were in a position to take advantage of them. Under Probate Code section 21380, the law presumes a gift was the result of fraud or undue influence when it goes to:
The rule also covers a caregiver’s close relatives, the people they live with, and their employees, so a gift can’t simply be routed through someone close to them.
In practice, this flips the usual burden. Instead of you having to prove something went wrong, the person who received the gift has to prove it didn’t, and they need strong evidence to do it (the legal standard is “clear and convincing”). For gifts to the drafter or the people closest to them, that proof isn’t even allowed: the gift fails. And if the person receiving the gift can’t overcome the presumption, they have to pay the costs of the case, including reasonable attorney’s fees.
Many trusts include a no-contest clause. In simple terms, it says that if a beneficiary challenges the trust, they lose what the trust leaves them. It’s meant to discourage family fights, and understandably, it makes a lot of people afraid to speak up.
The good news is that California enforces these clauses narrowly. Under Probate Code section 21311, a no-contest clause can only be used against a direct challenge to the trust if that challenge was brought without probable cause. Probable cause doesn’t mean you have to be certain you’ll win. It means that, based on what you know when you file, a reasonable person would believe there’s a reasonable chance the court will rule in your favor once there’s been time to investigate and gather evidence.
So a no-contest clause is something to take seriously, and it’s worth having it reviewed before anything is filed. But it doesn’t automatically mean you have to stay silent.
Contested trusts and estates often overlap with financial elder abuse: accounts drained in the last years of life, property retitled, or documents signed under pressure. California law treats these cases seriously. Under Probate Code section 859, a court can order a person who wrongfully took property in bad faith, including through undue influence or financial elder abuse, to pay twice the value of the property recovered, and may award attorney’s fees and costs.
Not every trust and estate dispute is about whether the document is valid. Some are about how the trustee is handling it: refusing to share information, delaying distributions, mixing trust money with their own, or favoring one beneficiary. California trustees owe duties of loyalty, impartiality and disclosure, and beneficiaries can ask the court to compel an accounting, surcharge a trustee or remove one.
You’ve already lost someone you love. You shouldn’t also lose what they meant for you to have, or the chance to set things right, simply because a deadline slipped by while you were grieving. If something about their trust or will has been weighing on you, trust that instinct and get answers.
You don’t have to have it all figured out, and you don’t have to decide anything today. One conversation with David Yoshida can give you a clear picture of your deadlines, what the documents really say, and whether a contest makes sense for your family. Call (323) 977-7001 or contact David today, while every option is still on the table.
Direct access. You work with David Yoshida himself, not a rotating team. Virtual consultations. Families anywhere in California can meet with David by video. Read what clients say on the Reviews page.
David litigates in California state and federal courts and has served more than 500 clients.
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You'll always know where your case stands and what it's costing.
In most cases, you have 120 days from the date the trustee sends you a formal notice after the trust creator’s death. If you ask for a copy of the trust during those 120 days, you get at least 60 days after it arrives, whichever deadline ends later. This rule comes from Probate Code section 16061.8. If you never received a proper notice, a different deadline may apply, so it’s worth having your dates checked as soon as possible.
In California, you generally have 120 days to contest a will after the probate court accepts it, a step called “admitting” the will to probate. You can also object before that happens, at or before the court hearing where the will is approved. This 120-day rule comes from Probate Code section 8270. There is a narrow exception for people who were minors or legally incapacitated without a guardian or conservator when the will was admitted, but for most families, the safest approach is to act well within the 120 days.
In California, you can generally contest a trust if you would receive more if the trust, or a change to it, were found invalid. That usually includes:
The key question is whether the outcome of the contest would affect what you receive. If it would, you likely have the right to bring a challenge.
In California, the most common grounds for contesting a trust are:
California law also presumes a gift was the result of fraud or undue influence when it goes to the person who drafted the trust, or to a caregiver of a dependent adult in certain situations (Probate Code section 21380).
In California, you can lose your inheritance under a no-contest clause only in limited situations. For a direct challenge to the trust, the clause can be enforced only if you filed without probable cause, meaning you had no reasonable basis to believe the court might rule in your favor (Probate Code section 21311). If you have real evidence of a problem, such as undue influence or lack of capacity, that evidence is what protects your share. Some clauses also cover other types of claims, so have the clause and your evidence reviewed before you file anything.
In California, undue influence is excessive pressure or persuasion that overpowers a person’s free will and leads to an unfair result, such as a trust or will that benefits the person applying the pressure. California courts look at four main factors (Welfare and Institutions Code section 15610.70, which the Probate Code adopts):
No single factor decides a case. Courts look at the full picture, which is why records, timelines and witness accounts matter so much.
The cost of contesting a trust in California depends mostly on how far the case goes. A dispute that settles early, after a demand letter or mediation, usually costs far less than one that goes all the way to trial. The main factors are:
In some cases, California law allows the court to order the other side to pay attorney’s fees and costs, such as when a caregiver or drafter can’t overcome the legal presumption against their gift, or when property was taken in bad faith. The best way to get a real sense of cost is to ask about fees, and how they’re structured, in your first conversation.
Many trust contests in California never reach trial. They often settle, frequently through mediation, once both sides have seen the key evidence, such as medical records, financial records and witness accounts. Settling can save time and money, and it can spare a family years of conflict.
If a case doesn’t settle, it goes to trial in the probate department of the superior court. A probate judge, not a jury, hears the evidence and decides the outcome. That’s why careful preparation matters from the very start: the strength of your evidence shapes both your settlement options and how a judge will see your case.
Yes, in many cases. In California, when a trust becomes irrevocable after the trust creator’s death, the trustee must notify both the beneficiaries and the legal heirs, such as children or a spouse, even if those heirs aren’t named in the trust. Anyone who receives that notice has the right to request a copy of the trust terms, and the trustee has to provide it.
Requesting a copy also matters for timing. If you ask for it within 120 days of the notice, you get at least 60 days after the copy arrives to file a contest, even if that runs past the original 120 days. If you never received a notice but believe you may be a beneficiary or an heir, you can ask the trustee directly, and if they refuse, the probate court can order them to share it.
David Yoshida’s office is located in Calabasas, at 4500 Park Granada, Suite 202, just off the 101 Ventura Freeway. That puts him within easy reach of families across the Conejo Valley, the San Fernando Valley and the west side of Los Angeles County, including Agoura Hills, Hidden Hills, Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks and Woodland Hills.
Trust and estate disputes are usually heard in the probate court of the county where the trust is administered or where your loved one lived, so David represents families whose cases are filed in Los Angeles County, Ventura County and elsewhere in California. Wherever your case is, the first step is the same: a conversation about what happened and what your deadlines are.
The Yoshida Firm
4500 Park Granada, Suite 202
Calabasas, CA 91302
(323) 977-7001
If you’ve read this far, something is probably weighing on you. Maybe it’s a trust amendment that came out of nowhere, a sibling or caregiver who suddenly controls everything, or a feeling that your loved one’s real wishes were pushed aside. Whatever it is, you don’t have to sort through it alone, and you don’t have to guess what your rights are.
David Yoshida litigates in California state and federal courts, and he understands both the law and the weight these cases carry for a family. When you reach out, he’ll listen to your story, look at the documents and the dates, and tell you honestly where you stand. If there’s a case worth pursuing, he’ll explain how to protect it. If there isn’t, he’ll tell you that too.
The deadlines in trust and will contests are short, and they don’t pause for grief. The sooner you talk with David, the more options you’ll have.
