An act to repeal and add Section 15804 of the Probate Code, relating to trusts.
AB 565 revises California Probate Code Section 15804, which governs when notice in trust and estate matters can be given to a person who may represent and bind another person. The bill replaces an older indirect-notice framework with a clearer rule: notice to an authorized representative is treated as notice to the represented person for trust-related actions. It also specifies when representation is allowed, including by parents, conservators, guardians, agents, trustees, and personal representatives, and it permits representation of minors, unborn persons, unknown persons, and persons with substantially identical interests in certain circumstances.
The bill adds safeguards and limits to that representation authority. It requires written consent when a person agrees to be represented, makes that consent binding unless timely objected to, bars representation where there is a conflict of interest, and prohibits a settlor from representing a beneficiary on termination or modification of an irrevocable trust. It also preserves existing requirements for special notice, notices of appearance, statutorily required notice, guardian ad litem procedures, and existing fiduciary duties, while clarifying that court actions are binding on represented persons and that notice includes other papers.
AB 565 amends the Probate Code’s trust-notice provisions and changes how trustees, courts, and other fiduciaries may satisfy notice obligations in trust administration, modification, and termination matters. By authorizing notice to certain representatives to count as notice to the underlying beneficiary or interested person, the bill is intended to streamline trust proceedings involving minors, incapacitated persons, unborn or unascertainable persons, and successive interests. It also provides liability protection for fiduciaries relying on valid representations, except in cases of intentional breach, gross negligence, bad faith, or reckless indifference.
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial in the Legislature. It moved through committee and floor consideration on consent calendars and received unanimous recorded votes in the available history, with no recorded opposition. The absence of committee transcripts suggests there was little public dispute or debate captured in the available materials.
The main policy issue in the bill is the balance between efficiency in trust administration and protection of beneficiaries’ due process interests. Potential concerns center on whether one person should be allowed to receive notice and bind another, especially for minors, unborn beneficiaries, or persons whose whereabouts are unknown. The bill addresses those concerns by requiring written consent for voluntary representation, barring conflicted representation, excluding settlors from representing beneficiaries in certain irrevocable trust matters, and preserving special-notice and guardian ad litem protections.