Patton

Here we hold, that the settlor of a charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT) may enforce the terms of the trust by petitioning the probate court concerning the internal affairs of the trust, here an accounting. In the present case, the settlor of three irrevocable CRUT’s successfully petitioned to remove the trustee. But, the trial court then ruled that settlor lacked standing to object to the ousted trustee’s accounting because he was not a “beneficiary” within the meaning of Probate Code section 17200. We reverse and conclude that a settlor may, pursuant, to the terms of the trust instrument, reserve the power to object to trustee accountings. (§§ 17200, 24, subd. (d).)

Facts and Procedural History

In 2002 appellant Lowell T. Patton and his wife, Mary Lou Patton, created three CRUT’s for their children: the Lowell & Mary Lou Patton Charitable Remainder Unitrust for Sally Patton Walter, the Lowell & Mary Lou Patton Charitable Remainder Unitrust for Jodi Ream Patton, and the Lowell & Mary Lou Patton Charitable Remainder Unitrust for Jack T. Patton. The CRUT’s named the children as income beneficiaries and named four charities as remainder beneficiaries.

The CRUT’s were…