When a Trustee Refuses to Give an Accounting in New York: How to Compel One

By Albert Goodwin, Esq., a New York estate, trust, and guardianship attorney admitted in New York. Last updated: June 2024.

If you are a trust beneficiary and the trustee will not show you what they have done with the trust's money, you are not without options. New York law gives beneficiaries a direct, statutory tool to force the issue: a petition to compel an accounting under SCPA § 2205. This page focuses narrowly on that scenario — a trustee who refuses, delays, or ignores a request to account — and walks through who can demand it, how long you have, what the trustee must hand over, and who pays.

If you want help compelling a trustee's accounting in a New York Surrogate's Court, you can email us at [email protected] or call 212-233-1233.

The Trustee's Underlying Duty to Account in New York

A trustee is a fiduciary and owes beneficiaries a duty of full disclosure regarding the administration of the trust. The duty to keep records and to render an accounting flows from common-law fiduciary principles and from the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law. Under EPTL § 11-2.3 (the Prudent Investor Act), a trustee must keep clear records of investment decisions and be able to justify them. New York's Surrogate's Court Procedure Act then supplies the machinery for forcing a formal accounting when a trustee will not cooperate.

The two core mechanisms are:

• SCPA § 2205 — the petition to compel a fiduciary, including a trustee, to file an account. This is the central statute when a trustee refuses to account.
• SCPA §§ 2208 and 2209 — the procedures governing voluntary and judicial accountings of testamentary trustees, including the form and content of the account and the citation of interested parties.

Note: SCPA § 2306 is sometimes cited in this context, but that section concerns trustee commissions, not the duty to account. The correct authority for compelling an account is SCPA § 2205.

Who Has Standing to Demand an Accounting

SCPA § 2205 identifies who may petition to compel a trustee to account. The right is not limited to one type of beneficiary:

• Income beneficiaries — a person currently entitled to receive income from the trust may demand an account of how income has been collected and distributed.
• Principal (remainder) beneficiaries — a person who will or may receive principal when the trust terminates also has standing, because mismanagement of principal directly affects their eventual share. Even contingent remaindermen frequently have a sufficient interest to be heard.
• A successor trustee — a trustee who takes over from a prior trustee can compel the outgoing trustee to account.
• A creditor or other person with a demonstrated interest in the trust, in appropriate cases.

A purely speculative or remote interest may not be enough, and the court can require the petitioner to show that they are an "interested person." For a fuller discussion of what information beneficiaries are entitled to receive short of a full accounting, see our page on beneficiaries' rights to trust information.

Lifetime (Inter Vivos) Trusts vs. Testamentary Trusts

The accounting duty differs depending on how the trust was created, and this distinction matters for both venue and procedure:

• Testamentary trusts are created by a will and are administered under the supervision of the Surrogate's Court. The court has continuing jurisdiction, and a beneficiary can bring a petition to compel an account in the Surrogate's Court that admitted the will to probate. SCPA §§ 2208 and 2209 govern the trustee's account of a testamentary trust.
• Lifetime (inter vivos) trusts are created during the grantor's lifetime and are not automatically supervised by any court. A beneficiary can usually proceed in either the Surrogate's Court or the Supreme Court. The trustee of a lifetime trust still owes a fiduciary duty to account, but the procedural route and the documents in play often look different — for example, the trust instrument itself frequently spells out accounting obligations and may waive or expand them.

Because of these differences, the first step in any refusal-to-account matter is identifying which kind of trust you are dealing with and which court has jurisdiction.

Deadlines, Statute of Limitations, and Laches

There is no fixed calendar deadline for a trustee to volunteer an accounting in every situation — the duty is triggered by a demand, by termination of the trust, or by the terms of the instrument. However, timing matters for the beneficiary too:

• Claims tied to the accounting. A claim for breach of fiduciary duty seeking money damages is generally subject to a six-year limitations period in New York; where the relief sought is purely equitable, a three-year period may apply. The clock can be affected by when the breach was or should have been discovered and by whether the trustee has "openly repudiated" the trust.
• Laches. Even within the limitations period, a beneficiary who sits on their rights for years — while the trustee acts openly and the beneficiary knew or should have known — can face a laches defense. This is one reason not to wait once a trustee starts stonewalling.
• The demand itself. A trustee who is on notice that you want an account and refuses cannot indefinitely run out the clock; the refusal itself is often what supports the SCPA § 2205 petition.

What the Trustee Can Be Forced to Produce

A formal accounting in New York is a detailed, schedule-by-schedule statement of administration. Once compelled, the trustee typically must disclose:

• Principal received and the date and source of each receipt;
• Income collected (dividends, interest, rents);
• Administration expenses and the trustee's commissions claimed;
• Distributions made to beneficiaries;
• Gains and losses on the sale or disposition of trust assets;
• A statement of assets remaining on hand;
• Supporting documentation — bank and brokerage statements, cancelled checks, real estate records, and tax filings — which can be obtained through objections and discovery if the bare account is inadequate.

If the account is filed but incomplete or suspicious, beneficiaries can file objections and pursue discovery, including document demands and depositions. For the mechanics of contesting a filed account, see our page on accounting proceedings.

Step by Step: The Petition to Compel Under SCPA § 2205

1. Your attorney files a petition in the appropriate court asking it to direct the trustee to account.
2. The court issues a citation requiring the trustee to appear on a return date.
3. The trustee appears; the court typically directs the trustee to file an account within a set period (often around 60 days).
4. If the trustee complies, the account is filed and beneficiaries may examine it and file objections.
5. If the trustee ignores the order, the petitioner can seek to hold the trustee in contempt, and the court can issue further process.
6. Persistent, unjustified refusal can lead to removal of the trustee and, in extreme cases, civil contempt sanctions including incarceration until compliance.

For the separate question of removing a fiduciary who will not perform, see our page on removing a fiduciary in New York.

Who Pays for the Accounting

A common concern is cost. As a general rule, the expense of preparing an accounting is a cost of administering the trust and is borne by the trust itself — the trustee does not get to charge the beneficiary for doing the job the trustee is legally required to do. Where the trustee's misconduct or unreasonable refusal forced the proceeding, the court has discretion to surcharge the trustee personally for costs and, in cases of bad faith, to deny commissions or shift legal fees. A beneficiary who simply demands an account they are entitled to should not expect to personally fund the trustee's compliance.

When the Accounting Reveals Self-Dealing

Sometimes the reason a trustee refuses to account is that the numbers will not survive scrutiny — commingled funds, undisclosed loans to the trustee, sales of trust property to the trustee or their relatives at below-market prices, or missing income. When an account reveals these problems, the beneficiary's remedies escalate from compelling disclosure to seeking a surcharge (an order that the trustee personally repay the loss), denial of commissions, and removal. These claims are explained on our pages on breach of trust and breach of fiduciary duty. Where assets have actually been taken or hidden, a discovery and turnover proceeding may also be available.

A Practical Illustration

Consider a typical pattern we see: a parent's will creates a testamentary trust naming one adult child as trustee, with that child receiving income and the other siblings as remainder beneficiaries. Years pass; the siblings receive nothing and no statements. When they finally write asking for an accounting, the trustee says everything is "fine" and stops responding. In that situation, the remainder beneficiaries have standing under SCPA § 2205 to petition the Surrogate's Court that probated the will, the court can direct the trustee to file a formal account within a fixed period, and the cost of preparing it generally comes out of the trust — not the petitioners' pockets. If the eventual account shows the trustee paid themselves undisclosed distributions, the siblings can object and seek a surcharge. (This is a generalized scenario for illustration, not a description of a specific client matter or a prediction of any outcome.)

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a trustee have to provide an accounting in New York?

There is no single statutory countdown that applies in every case. A trustee's duty to account is generally triggered by a beneficiary's demand, by termination of the trust, or by the trust instrument. Once a court orders an account under SCPA § 2205, it typically sets a deadline — often around 60 days — for the trustee to file it.

Can I sue a trustee for not giving an accounting?

Yes. A beneficiary with standing can file a petition to compel an accounting under SCPA § 2205. If the trustee still refuses after the court orders an account, you can seek contempt sanctions and removal of the trustee.

Do I have to pay to get the trustee to account?

The cost of preparing the account is ordinarily a trust administration expense paid from the trust. If the trustee's misconduct or unreasonable refusal caused the proceeding, the court can shift costs onto the trustee personally.

Can a remainder beneficiary, not just an income beneficiary, demand an accounting?

Yes. Both income beneficiaries and principal (remainder) beneficiaries generally have standing under SCPA § 2205, because mismanagement of trust principal affects what remaindermen will ultimately receive.

Is the procedure different for a living (inter vivos) trust?

Often, yes. Testamentary trusts are supervised by the Surrogate's Court, while lifetime trusts may be addressed in either the Surrogate's Court or the Supreme Court, and the trust instrument may modify the accounting obligations. The substance of the trustee's duty to account, however, applies to both.

Speak With a New York Trust Accounting Attorney

If a trustee is refusing to account, or you suspect self-dealing or misappropriation of trust assets, the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin can help you file a petition to compel an accounting under SCPA § 2205 and pursue the remedies that follow. We handle these matters in the New York City Surrogate's Courts and surrounding counties, with offices in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. Call 212-233-1233 or email [email protected].

This article is general legal information for New York trusts and is not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed by reading it. Outcomes depend on the specific facts of each matter.