El texto completo de esta guía está en inglés; el resumen anterior está en su idioma. Los resúmenes de las leyes y el inglés siguen siendo la fuente de referencia.
Distributions · 7 min de lectura
Where a statute calls for it: §240
§240 provides California's division where a statute calls for it — intestate succession among issue among them (§6402): the property is divided into as many equal shares as there are living members of the nearest generation of issue then living and deceased members of that generation who leave issue then living, each living member taking one share and each deceased member's share being divided the same way among that member's issue.
The effect is per capita with representation: the division starts at the nearest generation with a living member, not necessarily at the children's generation.
Where the instrument says "per stirpes": §246
An instrument's words take a different rule. Under §246(b), unless the instrument expressly provides otherwise, an instrument executed on or after January 1, 1986 that calls for property to be distributed or taken "per stirpes," "by representation" or "by right of representation" is distributed in the manner of §246(a): equal shares at the children's generation of the designated ancestor — one for each living child and each deceased child who left issue then living — with a deceased child's share divided the same way.
So in California the same family tree can come out differently under a trust that says "by representation" and under intestacy. The instrument's own words, read with §246, decide; reading them for a particular trust is licensed-attorney work.
Discretion, and its limits
Many trusts leave distributions to the trustee's discretion. §16080 provides that, except as §16081 provides, a discretionary power is not left to the trustee's arbitrary discretion and is exercised reasonably; §16081 adds that even "absolute," "sole" or "uncontrolled" discretion is exercised in accordance with fiduciary principles, not in bad faith or in disregard of the trust's purposes, and limits a trustee-beneficiary's discretionary distributions to themselves unless the settlor clearly provided otherwise.
A required distribution is different: it is owed, and §16004.5 forbids conditioning it on the beneficiary's release of the trustee — though the trustee may keep a reserve for reasonably anticipated expenses and withhold a portion reasonably in dispute (§16004.5(b)).
Seeing the arithmetic
The Distribution Calculator shows the exact fractions each system produces for a family shape you model — the §240 column labeled as California's default where a statute calls for it, and the strict per stirpes column that an instrument's "per stirpes" or "by representation" takes under §246. It is arithmetic, not advice about which rule a particular trust uses.
Las leyes, textualmente
No release as a condition of a required distribution
Prob. Code §16004.5 ↗Explicación clara y sencilla; el texto literal del estatuto aún no está atestiguado en nuestra biblioteca. Consulte el estatuto oficial en el enlace de arriba.
Discretionary powers exercised reasonably
Prob. Code §16080 ↗Explicación clara y sencilla; el texto literal del estatuto aún no está atestiguado en nuestra biblioteca. Consulte el estatuto oficial en el enlace de arriba.
Absolute, sole or uncontrolled discretion
Prob. Code §16081 ↗Explicación clara y sencilla; el texto literal del estatuto aún no está atestiguado en nuestra biblioteca. Consulte el estatuto oficial en el enlace de arriba.
Division at the nearest generation with living members
Prob. Code §240 ↗Explicación clara y sencilla; el texto literal del estatuto aún no está atestiguado en nuestra biblioteca. Consulte el estatuto oficial en el enlace de arriba.
Division in the manner of section 246 (per stirpes)
Prob. Code §246 ↗Explicación clara y sencilla; el texto literal del estatuto aún no está atestiguado en nuestra biblioteca. Consulte el estatuto oficial en el enlace de arriba.
Preguntas frecuentes
What does "by right of representation" mean in a California trust?
For an instrument executed on or after January 1, 1986, unless it expressly provides otherwise, "per stirpes," "by representation" and "by right of representation" take the division of §246(a): equal shares at the children's generation of the designated ancestor (§246(b)).
What is per capita with representation in California?
§240's division where a statute calls for it: equal shares for each living member of the nearest generation with a living member and each deceased member of that generation who left living issue, with a deceased member's share divided the same way among that member's issue.
Can a trustee require a release before distributing?
Not for a distribution the instrument requires (§16004.5(a)). The trustee may keep a reserve for reasonably anticipated expenses, seek a voluntary release, and withhold a portion reasonably in dispute (§16004.5(b)).
Lecturas relacionadas
El Centro de Aprendizaje es información general sobre la ley de California — no es asesoría legal ni sustituye el consejo de un abogado de California con licencia sobre sus hechos específicos. TrusteeClear es software, no un bufete.