The Journal
Plain-English Estate Law
Plain-English guidance on wills, trusts, probate, and protecting your family in California.
Can Someone With Dementia Amend a Trust in California?
A dementia diagnosis doesn't automatically bar a trust amendment in California. The sliding-scale capacity standard courts actually use, and how to protect a late-life change.
Read →Leaving Money to a Caregiver in California: The §21380 Rules
California law presumes a gift to a paid caregiver is the product of fraud or undue influence, unless you follow one specific procedure. How the certificate of independent…
Read →Can You Disinherit Your Spouse in California?
You can only give away your half: community property limits what any California will or trust can do to a spouse. Omitted-spouse rights, valid waivers, and what actually…
Read →Do Beneficiaries Pay Taxes on Trust Distributions in California?
Sometimes, it depends on DNI, not on whether the check is labeled 'principal.' How K-1s work, what's taxable, and the California throwback rule nobody warns you about.
Read →Do Irrevocable Trust Assets Get a Step-Up in Basis at Death?
Only if the assets are included in the taxable estate: Rev. Rul. 2023-2 settled it. What that means for California families, plus the community-property double step-up.
Read →What Happens to Your HSA When You Die? Beneficiary Rules
A spouse inherits an HSA tax-free; anyone else owes income tax on the whole balance that year. The exact rules, plus California's HSA tax quirk nobody mentions.
Read →What Happens to a UTMA Account When Your Child Turns 18 in California?
California custodial accounts end sooner than most parents think, often at 18. The actual ages under California's UTMA, and what to use instead for larger gifts.
Read →Is a Will a Public Record in California?
Your will is private while you're alive, and becomes a public court record after you die. How that works, and why trusts stay private.
Read →Want a straight read on where you stand?
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