Evicting a Beneficiary Co-Trustee From the Family Home: What California Families Need to Know

by Michael Hackard

Publication Date September 15, 2026 in Trustee’s Duty

When the Family Home Becomes a Battleground

I am Michael Hackard, founder of Hackard Law. Over five decades of practice, I have fought for heirs, beneficiaries, and elder abuse victims whose inheritances were threatened by conflict, bad faith, and legal gridlock. I have written four published books on inheritance protection and produced more than 1,000 educational videos that have reached over seven million viewers. My firm serves families throughout the San Francisco Bay Area  –  including Alameda, Santa Clara, and San Mateo counties  –  as well as Sacramento and Los Angeles.

A family home held in trust, a beneficiary who lives there and won’t leave, and co-trustees who can’t agree on what to do next are among the most agonizing situations I come across. The legal route is rarely simple, and it happens more often than most families anticipate.

Hackard Law provides contingency fee representation  –  no upfront costs for qualified cases. If your family is facing a trust dispute involving real property, call us today at (916) 313-3030.

Quick Summary

When a co-trustee occupies trust property and refuses to cooperate with other beneficiaries, California trust law provides remedies  –  but none of them are simple or guaranteed.

• A co-trustee living in the family home may be violating duties of loyalty and impartiality to other beneficiaries.
• Co-trustees must generally act unanimously, and one trustee blocking a sale can paralyze the entire trust administration.
• California Probate Code section 15642 allows courts to remove a trustee for hostility or lack of cooperation.
• Courts may remove both co-trustees and appoint a neutral professional fiduciary to break the deadlock.
• Even after removal, eviction outcomes are not guaranteed  –  probate courts are courts of equity and fashion individualized remedies.

How This Situation Typically Develops

The family home is almost always the most valuable asset in a living trust. While a parent is alive and serving as trustee, the arrangement works smoothly. Problems begin at death. A common pattern involves a widow who names two of her four children as successor co-trustees. One of those co-trustees has been living with her in the family home. When the mother dies, both children step into the trustee role  –  but the one living in the home refuses to vacate, refuses to pay rent, and refuses to cooperate in selling the property.

The other three beneficiaries  –  siblings with equal shares under the trust  –  want the home sold and the proceeds divided. No one can move forward. That is the impasse.

Understanding how real estate disputes develop within trust litigation is essential for any family navigating this kind of conflict. These disputes are among the most common probate and trust battles families face in California courts.

The Legal Framework: Co-Trustee Duties and the Deadlock Problem

California law is clear that co-trustees must act unanimously unless the trust instrument says otherwise. When one co-trustee refuses to cooperate, the entire administration of the trust can grind to a halt. Both trustees carry a duty to take control of trust property, preserve it, and make it productive. A co-trustee who occupies the home without paying rent, while blocking a sale, is undermining all three of those duties.

There is also the duty of loyalty. A trustee must act in the interest of all beneficiaries, not just herself. By preferring her own economic benefit  –  free housing  –  over the equal rights of her siblings, the occupying co-trustee is breaching that duty. She is also failing the duty of impartiality, which requires a trustee to treat all beneficiaries fairly and without favoritism.

Case Pattern: For more than a year following her mother’s passing, a co-trustee who lived in the family home refused to assist with the sale. Section 15642 of the Probate Code was used by the other beneficiaries to petition for her removal. The court designated a professional fiduciary as the only successor trustee after concluding that animosity among the co-trustees was hindering the administration of the trust. In the end, the property was listed and sold, with the proceeds split equally.

Removal of a Co-Trustee: What the Probate Code Allows

California Probate Code section 15642 gives the court authority to remove a trustee where hostility or lack of cooperation among co-trustees impairs trust administration. A petition can be brought by a settlor, a co-trustee, or a beneficiary. The court has broad discretion.

One outcome families often do not anticipate: when a court is faced with two warring co-trustees, it may remove both of them  –  not just the one causing the problem. Even if all other beneficiaries unite behind removing the occupying co-trustee, the court might decide that the cleaner solution is to appoint a neutral third party as the sole successor trustee. California courts regularly appoint professional fiduciaries licensed under the Professional Fiduciaries Act for exactly this purpose.

For Bay Area families, Alameda County estate litigation and Santa Clara estate litigation both involve probate courts that handle these petitions routinely. Families in Oakland and the surrounding East Bay should understand that Oakland estate litigation follows the same framework under California law.

Eviction After Removal: Why Results Are Not Guaranteed

Even after a co-trustee is removed and a new trustee is in place, eviction of the occupying beneficiary is not automatic. The trustee holds legal title to the property; the beneficiaries hold equitable title. The trustee  –  whether original or newly appointed  –  may bring an eviction action, and the beneficiary may oppose it.

Since probate courts are courts of equity, they can create remedies in a variety of ways. The eviction may be completely upheld by the court. It may also establish a partial rent arrangement with a later offset against the beneficiary’s distribution, demand fair market rent, or permit the beneficiary to stay for a set amount of time. The facts, the equities, and the particular judge all influence these results.

Case Pattern: A beneficiary who was not a co-trustee had moved into the family home after her father’s death, claiming she was caring for the property. The trustee sought eviction. The court declined to issue an immediate eviction order and instead required the beneficiary to pay monthly rent equal to the property’s fair rental value, with the matter set for further review. The case resolved when the beneficiary agreed to vacate in exchange for a modest adjustment in the distribution timeline.

Families navigating these disputes should also review what California beneficiaries need to know about their rights before taking any action.

Key Definitions

• Co-trustee: A person who shares trustee responsibilities with one or more other individuals, typically named in the trust instrument as a successor to the original trustee.
• Successor trustee: The individual or entity that assumes trustee duties after the original trustee dies, resigns, or becomes incapacitated.
• Duty of loyalty: The obligation of a trustee to administer the trust solely in the interest of the beneficiaries, not for personal gain.
• Duty of impartiality: The requirement that a trustee act fairly toward all beneficiaries and not favor one over another.
• Probate Code section 15642: The California statute authorizing a court to remove a trustee for cause, including hostility or failure to cooperate with a co-trustee.
• Professional fiduciary: A licensed individual appointed by a court to serve as a neutral trustee when family trustees cannot function together.
• Court of equity: A court that has discretion to fashion remedies based on fairness, not just strict legal rules  –  probate courts in California operate as courts of equity.
• Equitable title: The beneficial interest a trust beneficiary holds in trust property, as distinguished from the legal title held by the trustee.
• Unanimous action requirement: The rule under California law that co-trustees must agree before exercising trustee powers, unless the trust instrument provides otherwise.

What to Do Next

• Look for language in the trust instrument that addresses how co-trustees must act  –  some trusts allow majority action rather than requiring unanimity.
• Get copies of the trust document, any amendments, and the property deed as early as possible.
• Try to avoid taking unilateral action as a co-trustee without consulting an attorney  –  unauthorized acts can expose you to personal liability.
• Look for a pattern of the occupying beneficiary blocking communications, refusing to respond to requests, or making unilateral decisions about the property.
• Document all attempts to reach agreement with the co-trustee, including emails, texts, and letters.
• Try to avoid delay  –  the longer the property sits unproductive, the greater the financial toll on all beneficiaries.
• Consider whether a petition for removal under Probate Code section 15642 is appropriate, and understand that the court may remove both co-trustees.
• Look into whether a professional fiduciary appointment might resolve the deadlock faster than continued litigation between family members.
• Call Hackard Law at (916) 313-3030 to discuss your situation with an attorney who handles these disputes across the Bay Area and throughout California.
• You can also reach us through our contact page to schedule a consultation.

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