Beneficiaries of a Revocable Lifetime Trust Have a Cause of Action Against the Trustee for Actions During the Settlor’s Lifetime

Under California law, so long as the person who has the power to revoke a trust is competent, that person has the rights afforded a beneficiary and the duties of the trustee are owed to that person.  In In re Estate of Giraldin, 290 P.3d 199 (Calif. 2012), a divided California Supreme Court held that both California statutes and the common law of trusts do not prevent the beneficiaries of a revocable trust from have standing to sue the trustee after the settlor’s death for violations of the trustee’s duties owed to the settlor while the settlor was alive.