Can a beneficiary of a deceased's trust claim for attorney fees under section 17211(b) of the California Probate Court?

Section 17211(b) grants the probate court "discretion to award attorney fees to a trust beneficiary who 'contests the trustee's account,' if the court determines the trustee's opposition to the contest was 'without reasonable cause and in bad faith.'" (Leader v. Cords, supra, 182 Cal.App.4th at p. 1591.) Section 17211(b) applies to a trust beneficiary's petition to compel an accounting, for a final distribution, and for a determination the trustee's conduct constituted a breach of the trust. (Leader v. Cords, supra, at p. 1599.)

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