In brief: After the first spouse dies, a married couple’s trust often splits, and the deceased spouse’s share may become irrevocable. A surviving spouse or stepparent serving as trustee owes duties of loyalty and impartiality to the remainder beneficiaries, including children of the first marriage. Hackard Law handles these disputes on contingency: no fee and no costs if there is no recovery, unless your written agreement provides otherwise.
By Michael Hackard, California trust and estate litigation attorney. Last reviewed October 26, 2026. Published November 2, 2026.
Three in four Tiburon homes are owner-occupied, and more than a quarter of residents are 65 or older. Estates like these are often built over a marriage and held in a joint trust. The hardest disputes begin after the first spouse dies.
Tiburon’s name comes from the Spanish tiburón, “shark,” first applied to the point and the peninsula. In 1884 the railroad made Tiburon its terminus, with ferries carrying passengers and freight to San Francisco. The town incorporated in 1964. It shares ZIP code 94920 with neighboring Belvedere.
Many married couples’ trusts split at the first death. The deceased spouse’s share often becomes irrevocable, and the survivor can change only the survivor’s own share. That depends on the trust’s terms, which is why the documents matter more than anyone’s memory of them.
When the surviving spouse is a stepparent and serves as trustee, the children of the first marriage are often the remainder beneficiaries. The trustee owes them duties of loyalty and impartiality, and must keep them reasonably informed (Probate Code §§ 16002, 16003, 16060). An amendment to the survivor’s share made during a decline, or a drained irrevocable share, can be challenged.
Michael Hackard wrote about this pattern in Alzheimer’s, Widowed Stepmothers & Estate Crimes.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, including the 2020 Census, 2025 population estimates, and American Community Survey 2020–2024.
Trust and probate cases for Tiburon are heard in the probate department of Marin County Superior Court, Hall of Justice, Marin County Civic Center, 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael, California 94903, about 11 miles by road from Tiburon Town Hall, depending on the route. Hackard Law’s office is in Sacramento County. The firm handles matters in Marin County Superior Court and throughout California.
Hackard Law represents families on a contingency basis. The fee is a percentage of the recovery, stated in a written agreement before work begins. The firm advances the costs of the case, which are repaid from the recovery. If there is no recovery, you owe no fee and no costs, unless your written agreement provides otherwise.
It depends on the trust. In many married couples’ trusts, the deceased spouse’s share becomes irrevocable at the first death and cannot be changed; the survivor can change only the survivor’s own share. A stepparent serving as trustee owes fiduciary duties to the remainder beneficiaries, including the children of the first marriage.
Yes, if you are a beneficiary. A trustee must provide the terms of the trust to a beneficiary who requests them (Probate Code § 16060.7). When a revocable trust becomes irrevocable, usually at a death, the trustee must also send the notification required by Probate Code § 16061.7.
The trustee must administer the trust solely in the interest of the beneficiaries, deal impartially with current and remainder beneficiaries, and keep them reasonably informed (Probate Code §§ 16002, 16003, 16060). Remainder beneficiaries can petition the court for an accounting, instructions, or removal of the trustee (Probate Code §§ 15642, 17200).
The first conversation is about what happened and when.
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Hackard Law’s office is in Sacramento County.
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