Orange County Trust Attorney Discusses Where You Should File a Trust Petition
August 1, 2016
Principal Place of Administration: Determining Where to File a Trust Petition
If a trust owns property in California but the Trustee resides in Florida, or another state, can you still file your petition in California?
In other words, can you file a petition in California even if the “principal place of administration” is Florida?
Actually, the answer is yes. Even if the principal place of administration has been moved to Florida, such a change would not require that such a petition be filed in the State of Florida. The concept of “principal place of administration” is generally regarded as a doctrine of forum convenience rather than jurisdiction. (Schuster v. Superior Court (1929) 98 Cal. App. 619, 624.) The primary significance of the principal place of administration of a trust under the Probate Code is that it establishes venue within the State of California for proceedings concerning the trust.
[Estate of Ivy (1994) 22 Cal. App. 4th 873, 880 (holding that “the proper venue is where the principal place of administration of the trust is located” in adjudicating between Los Angeles and Sonoma counties).]
Nothing in the Probate Code deprives a California court of jurisdiction that would otherwise exist over a particular proceeding merely because the principal place of administration changes to a location outside California. On the contrary, section 17004 permits the court to exercise jurisdiction to the full extent permitted by law.
The Law Revision Comments under the California Probate Code Section 17004 state as follows: “Section 17004 recognizes that the court, in proceedings relating to internal trust affairs or other purposes described in Section 17000, may exercise jurisdiction on any basis that is not inconsistent with the California or United States Constitutions …. Similarly, jurisdiction may be exercised to determine matters concerning trust property, particularly land, located in California even if the principal place of administration of the trust is not in California. [emphasis added].”
So if, for example, if the petition at issue essentially deals with rights concerning real property located in the State of California, in the County of Orange. The proper court therefore would be the Orange County Superior Court. If you have questions about where you should file a trust petition or other legal questions regarding trust administration, it is best to consult an experienced Orange County Trust Attorney.
Consult a Experienced Orange County Trust Attorney Today
George Vausher, LLM, CPA, is a partner with the FYK Law firm, and is a certified specialist in estate planning, probate, and trust law. If you would like additional information or assistance, please contact us at (949) 788-8900.
