Which remedy might a court order to ensure proper accounting and record-keeping by a trustee when mismanagement is suspected?

• A. Court-ordered accounting
• B. Immediate dissolution of the trust
• C. Personal imprisonment
• D. Ignorance of records.

Answer: (C)

When a trustee’s handling of trust assets is in doubt, the main objective is to reveal exactly what happened with the money and records. The typical remedy is a court-ordered accounting, which forces the trustee to provide a complete, itemized report of all receipts, disbursements, investments, and the current status of assets and liabilities. This creates a transparent financial picture that beneficiaries and the court can assess, making it possible to spot mismanagement, calculate any losses, and decide on next steps such as correcting actions, seeking restitution, or removing the trustee.

Imprisonment isn’t a tool to obtain or guarantee the accounting itself. It’s a potential sanction for contempt if a trustee willfully refuses to comply with a court order to produce records. It’s a punishment, not the mechanism that achieves proper accounting. Extreme measures like dissolving the trust are far harsher remedies used in more severe circumstances, and pretending records can be ignored isn’t a remedy at all—the court uses compelled accounting to fix the problem and move forward.