In California, as in other states, trusts established for minors are often created to preserve and manage assets until a minor beneficiary reaches a designated age. Often, especially if a minor’s parents pass away before the minor reaches adulthood, these resources can provide financial security for them.
While these trusts offer asset protection, they are not immune from legal challenges under specific circumstances. Depending on the ins and outs of a family’s situation, trusts created to protect assets for a minor can be challenged in California courts, although certain concerns generally make it more challenging to contest these types of trusts than others.
Taking action
Trusts established explicitly to protect assets for a minor can be harder to challenge if they were created with clear intent and proper documentation. California courts generally favor protecting minors’ interests, so they will scrutinize any challenge to a trust intended to benefit a child.
However, certain situations may make a successful challenge more likely. For instance, if a parent or guardian believes that a trustee is mismanaging a trust’s assets or failing to act in a child’s best interest, they can opt to take legal action to remove the trustee. Courts can also intervene if there is a concern that a trust is not fulfilling its intended purpose due to changes in circumstances.
While trusts that are set up to protect assets for a minor are generally secure, they can be contested in some cases. As a result, anyone who has questions about this area of law can potentially benefit from seeking personalized legal feedback.