Can I remove myself from a will or a trust?

Now, this actually asks two separate questions.

The first is if you are named as an executor under a will or if you’re named as a successor trustee under a trust, can you be forced to serve in those roles? And the answer, of course, is no. You are not required to serve as either an executor under a will or a successor trustee under a trust if you do not want to.

The second part of the question is if you are named as a beneficiary under a will or a beneficiary under a trust, are you required to inherit property under those instruments? And the answer, of course, is no. You are not required to accept property from somebody you do not want to. And so you can sign a document called a disclaimer, where you are giving up your interest in the inherited property so that the property technically never even comes into your hands or ownership.

I’m Matthew Crider, and this has been the quick question corner. If you enjoyed this video, please like this page.

Quick Question Corner is a video segment where we answer common questions about estate planning and elder law. If you have similar questions, leave them in the comment section and we can feature them in one of our videos in the future.

Watch Videos about:

Search Videos:

Davis
530–763-0014
750 F Street, Suite 2
Davis, CA 95616

Sacramento
916–975-7560
333 University Ave, Suite 200
Sacramento, CA 95825

Roseville
916–975-7721
3017 Douglas Blvd, Ste 300
Roseville, CA 95661

Monterey
831-777-2557
288 Pearl Street
Monterey, CA 93940

San Antonio
210-750-1800
18756 Stone Oak Pkwy, Ste 200
San Antonio, TX 78258

We operate on an appointment-only basis other than our Davis office.
Need Assistance? Call us at (916) 273-4777

Skip to content