Cal. PROB § 16331
This is the official text of Cal. PROB § 16331, part of California’s Probate Code — governs wills, trusts, estates, and conservatorships.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Official statutory text
(a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), this article applies to both of the following:
(1) An income trust, unless the terms of the trust expressly prohibit use of this article by a specific reference to this article or an explicit expression of intent that net income not be calculated as a unitrust amount.
(2) An express unitrust, except to the extent the terms of the trust explicitly do any of the following:
(A) Prohibit use of this article by a specific reference to this article.
(B) Prohibit conversion to an income trust.
(C) Limit changes to the method of calculating the unitrust amount.
(b) This article does not apply to a trust described in Section 170(f)(2)(B), 642(c)(5), 664(d), 2702(a)(3)(A)(ii) or (iii), or 2702(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. Secs. 170(f)(2)(B), 642(c)(5), 664(d), 2702(a)(3)(A)(ii) or (iii), or 2702(b)).
(c) An income trust to which this article applies under paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) may be converted to a unitrust under this article regardless of the terms of the trust concerning distributions. Conversion to a unitrust under this article does not affect other terms of the trust concerning distributions of income or principal.
(d) This article applies to an estate only to the extent a trust is a beneficiary of the estate. To the extent of the trust’s interest in the estate, the estate may be administered as a unitrust, the administration of the estate as a unitrust may be discontinued, or the percentage or method used to calculate the unitrust amount may be changed, in the same manner as for a trust under this article.
(e) This article does not create a duty to take or consider action under this article or to inform a beneficiary about the applicability of this article.
(f) A fiduciary that in good faith takes or fails to take an action under this article is not liable to a person affected by the action or inaction.
(1) An income trust, unless the terms of the trust expressly prohibit use of this article by a specific reference to this article or an explicit expression of intent that net income not be calculated as a unitrust amount.
(2) An express unitrust, except to the extent the terms of the trust explicitly do any of the following:
(A) Prohibit use of this article by a specific reference to this article.
(B) Prohibit conversion to an income trust.
(C) Limit changes to the method of calculating the unitrust amount.
(b) This article does not apply to a trust described in Section 170(f)(2)(B), 642(c)(5), 664(d), 2702(a)(3)(A)(ii) or (iii), or 2702(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. Secs. 170(f)(2)(B), 642(c)(5), 664(d), 2702(a)(3)(A)(ii) or (iii), or 2702(b)).
(c) An income trust to which this article applies under paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) may be converted to a unitrust under this article regardless of the terms of the trust concerning distributions. Conversion to a unitrust under this article does not affect other terms of the trust concerning distributions of income or principal.
(d) This article applies to an estate only to the extent a trust is a beneficiary of the estate. To the extent of the trust’s interest in the estate, the estate may be administered as a unitrust, the administration of the estate as a unitrust may be discontinued, or the percentage or method used to calculate the unitrust amount may be changed, in the same manner as for a trust under this article.
(e) This article does not create a duty to take or consider action under this article or to inform a beneficiary about the applicability of this article.
(f) A fiduciary that in good faith takes or fails to take an action under this article is not liable to a person affected by the action or inaction.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Dealing with a probate matter in California?
See all California Probate lawyers
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.