Alayarian Company, a California Corporation v. VMA Harbor Place Holding Company, LLC

(3) Where hostility or lack of cooperation among cotrustees impairs the administration of the trust. (4) Where the trustee fails or declines to act. (5) Where the trustee’s compensation is excessive under the circumstances. (6) Where the sole trustee is a person described in subdivision (a) of Section 21380, whether or not the person is the transferee of a donative transfer by the transferor, unless, based upon any evidence of the intent of the settlor and all other facts and circumstances, which shall be made known to the court, the court finds that it is consistent with the settlor’s intent that the trustee continue to serve and that this intent was not the product of fraud or undue influence.

Any waiver by the settlor of this provision is against public policy and shall be void. This paragraph shall not apply to instruments that became irrevocable on or before January 1, 1994. This paragraph shall not apply if any of the following conditions are met: ...

However, there are jurisdictional limitations with the request Plaintiff is seeking. Pursuant to the notice of related case, there is a probate matter in department CM03 titled “Saba-Trust”, case no. 2022- 01295368. (See ROA 56).

The probate court has exclusive jurisdiction over proceedings concerning the “internal affairs” of trusts. (Prob. Code, § 17000, subd. (a).) This is true even if the trust is administered outside of probate. (See e.g., Estate of Heggstad (1993) 16 Cal.App.4th 943, 951 (Trustee's petition for instructions invoked probate court's jurisdiction to determine whether property was part of estate or was trust property).

The probate code defines “internal affairs of a trust” to include: (1) Determining questions of construction of a trust instrument. (2) Determining the existence or nonexistence of any immunity, power, privilege, duty, or right. (3) Determining the validity of a trust provision. (4) Ascertaining beneficiaries and determining to whom property shall pass or be delivered upon final or partial termination of the trust, to the extent the determination is not made by the trust instrument. (5) Settling the accounts and passing upon the acts of the trustee, including the exercise of discretionary powers. (6) Instructing the trustee.

(Prob. Code, § 17200(b)(1)-(6)).

As the court held in Estate of Bowles (2008) 169 Cal.App.4th 684, “[t]he probate court has exclusive jurisdiction over the first amended section 17200 petition concerning the internal affairs of the trust.” (Id. at 696).

Accordingly, this court does not have jurisdiction to decide the internal affairs of the trust, which includes the relief Plaintiff is seeking by way of this motion. Therefore, the motion is DENIED.

Defendant shall give notice.

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