When a new trustee takes over the administration of a trust, can the previous trustee assert attorney-client privilege?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Forney v. Forney, E063262 (Cal. App. 2017):
communications and the privilege to prevent their disclosure must belong to the person presently acting as trustee, because that person has the duty to conduct all pending trust business. Therefore, for a trust to continue to operate smoothly when a change in trustee occurs, the power to assert the attorney-client privilege must pass from the predecessor trustee to the successor." (Moeller v. Superior Court (1997) 16 Cal.4th 1124, 1133.)
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