The Journal
Plain-English Estate Law
Plain-English guidance on wills, trusts, probate, and protecting your family in California.
Estate Tax Portability in California: The 706 Most Families Skip
Portability lets a surviving spouse keep the first spouse's unused $15M exemption, but only if you file a 706. The real 5-year deadline, and who actually needs it.
Read →Do You Still Need a SLAT After the 2026 Tax Law? (California)
The 2026 exemption sunset that drove SLAT urgency was repealed. When a spousal lifetime access trust still makes sense in California, and when it doesn't.
Read →Inheriting an Annuity in California: Your Options and the Tax
Inherited an annuity? Your payout options under IRC 72(s), why annuities get no step-up in basis, and how the gain is taxed as ordinary income in California.
Read →Can You Change an Irrevocable Trust in California?
Irrevocable doesn't mean untouchable. Beneficiary consent, court modification, decanting, and trust protectors. The real ways to change an irrevocable trust in California.
Read →Can a Trustee Sell the House Without the Beneficiaries’ Approval? (California)
A California trustee can usually sell trust property without beneficiary sign-off, but owes fiduciary duties. What beneficiaries can and can't do about a sale.
Read →Do California Trusts and LLCs Have to File a BOI Report? (2026 Update)
Short answer: As of 2026, if your LLC or corporation was formed in the United States, you do not have to file a Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) report…
Read →Gift Tax in 2026: What California Families Can Give Tax-Free
Short answer: In 2026 you can give up to $19,000 per person, per year to as many people as you like without filing anything or owing any tax.…
Read →No-Contest Clauses in California Trusts
A no-contest clause looks absolute on paper, but California's 2010 statutory rewrite narrowed it a lot. Here's what actually triggers forfeiture and what doesn't.
Read →Want a straight read on where you stand?
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