Can an estate trustee be found in contempt of court for ignoring an order to pass their accounts?

Yes, in a serious enough case. Contempt is a genuinely significant step reserved for clear, deliberate defiance of a court order — it isn't the court's first response to routine delay. But where an estate trustee has been specifically ordered to pass their accounts and simply refuses to comply, ignoring the order rather than making any real effort to follow it, contempt proceedings are a real possibility.

Before getting to contempt, courts generally expect to see that the order was clear, that the trustee genuinely knew about it, and that the failure to comply was a deliberate choice rather than a misunderstanding or a good-faith struggle to gather the necessary records in time. A trustee who's clearly trying, even if slowly, is in a different position than one who's flatly ignoring the court.

Because a finding of contempt can carry serious consequences for the trustee personally, it tends to be sought after other, less drastic steps, like further court orders, cost penalties, or a removal application, haven't worked, rather than as a first move. Beneficiaries dealing with an estate trustee who's ignoring a court order should get advice on the strongest and most proportionate path forward given exactly how the trustee has responded.