Q: How soon does a beneficiary have to declare the sales of the deceased vehicles and what the vehicles sold for

A: I never expect people will know legal terminology, which is why I always try to speak in plain English except where absolutely necessary to use legalese. So, it isn’t a problem, but I believe you mean either administrator, executor or trustee rather than “beneficiary”.

Administrators, executors or trustees all have similar jobs that include paying off the deceased person’s debts, ensuring final tax returns are filed and final taxes paid, and eventually distributing assets to the beneficiaries (the people who benefit by inheriting something.) The main difference between administrators, executors and trustees is whether the deceased person did no estate planning (administrators), had a Will (executors) or a Trust (trustees).

Your question doesn’t say whether the deceased person in your family had a trust, a will or did no planning, so I’ll use the generic term of “representative” rather than one of the three technical titles. Generally, the representative needs to provide an accounting once a year. The accounting should show what assets the deceased person had on the date of death and all money spent since then. But please know that debts and taxes must be paid BEFORE anyone can inherit anything. So, if a deceased person has more debts than assets, no one will inherit anything through a trust or will.

Back to your question, if it’s been more than a year since your loved one died, you could go to court and have a judge order the representative to give you an accounting. Best wishes!

A: In California, the administration of a trust, including the sale of vehicles and other assets, must be conducted in accordance with the terms of the trust and state law. When vehicles are sold, the beneficiary responsible for the sale is typically required to inform the trustee or attorney handling the estate. There isn't a specific statute of limitations for declaring the purchase price of sold vehicles, but timely reporting is crucial to ensure proper administration of the trust.

The trustee has a fiduciary duty to manage the trust assets responsibly and to keep accurate records of all transactions. This includes reporting the sale of vehicles and the prices they were sold for. Failure to do so in a timely manner could be seen as a breach of fiduciary duty, potentially leading to legal consequences.

To address this situation, you should contact the trustee or the attorney handling the estate to remind them of the need for proper documentation and reporting. If the beneficiary continues to delay, you may need to seek legal advice to ensure the trust is administered correctly and that all assets are accounted for. Keeping open communication and ensuring transparency is key to resolving such matters efficiently.