Abatement: Definition and How It Works in California

By Eric Ridley, attorney, Ridley Law. Updated September 2026.

Abatement is the order in which gifts in a will or trust are reduced or eliminated when the estate does not have enough assets to pay debts and satisfy every gift in full.

How it works in California

California sets a fixed order for which gifts get cut first. Under Prob. Code, § 21402(a), property the will or trust doesn’t otherwise dispose of goes first, then residuary gifts, then general gifts to people who aren’t relatives, then general gifts to relatives, then specific gifts to non-relatives, and specific gifts to relatives are cut last.

A general gift is a dollar amount or a share of a category of property, such as a set sum of cash or a fraction of the stocks. A specific gift names a particular item, such as a named house or a named brokerage account. Specific gifts sit furthest down the list because the person who wrote the document identified exactly what that beneficiary should get.

Why it matters

Abatement decides who actually ends up with less when the numbers don’t work. For example, a trust that leaves a residence to one child and a general gift of a set dollar amount to another child could end up cutting the second child’s gift substantially if the trust runs short on cash, while the residence passes intact.

Common mistakes

Families often assume every gift shrinks by the same percentage; it doesn’t, and the statutory order controls unless the will or trust says otherwise. People also forget that debts, taxes, and administration expenses come out before any gift is distributed at all, so an estate that looks solvent on paper can still trigger abatement once those costs are paid.

Related terms

• Ademption: a specific gift can fail entirely if the property no longer exists, a different problem often discussed alongside abatement.
• Lapse (Lapsed Gift): a gift can also fail because the named beneficiary died first, which raises its own set of rules separate from abatement.
• Bequest: a gift of property in a will or trust.
• Residuary Estate: what is left after debts, expenses, and specific and general gifts are paid.

Part of the California estate planning glossary.