How to Disclaim (Refuse) an Inheritance in California

Short answer: Yes, you can legally refuse an inheritance in California. A disclaimer must be in writing, signed by you, and must identify the person who left you the interest and describe what you’re refusing (Prob. Code §278). File it within 9 months of the death and it’s conclusively presumed timely under California law (§279(b)) — and the same 9-month window makes it a “qualified disclaimer” federally (IRC §2518), meaning refusing isn’t treated as you making a gift. The catch: the disclaimed share passes as if you had died first. You don’t get to pick who receives it instead.

Figures verified against Probate Code §§260–295 and IRC §2518, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice for your situation.

Why would anyone refuse an inheritance?

It sounds strange until you’ve been handed the wrong asset. Real reasons people disclaim:

• The asset is a liability wearing a bow. A timeshare with $1,200 a year in maintenance fees and no resale market. A house with more mortgage on it than value. A fractional interest in a family cabin that comes with three co-owners and a roof problem. Inheriting these means owning their costs; disclaiming means never touching them.
• Tax planning. You’re 70, financially set, and your mother left you $400,000 that would just stack onto your own estate. Disclaim, and it drops directly to whoever is next in line — often your kids — without you ever owning it, and without using any of your $19,000 annual gift exclusion or your $15 million lifetime exemption, because a qualified disclaimer under IRC §2518 isn’t a gift at all. (California makes this easier than most people think: there’s no state estate tax and no state gift tax.)
• Family fairness. Sometimes a will or old beneficiary form leaves everything to one sibling who knows the parent intended otherwise. A disclaimer can sometimes reroute the share where it was meant to go — but only if the “next in line” analysis actually points there, which is exactly where people get burned.

How a California disclaimer works

The rules live in Probate Code §§260–295, and they’re strict because the consequences are permanent:

• It must be written and signed. Under §278, the disclaimer must identify the creator of the interest (the person who died), describe the interest being disclaimed, and state the disclaimer and its extent. You can disclaim all of an inheritance or just part — the house but not the brokerage account, or half of a share.
• Nine months. A disclaimer filed within 9 months of the death (or of the interest becoming indefeasibly vested, whichever is later) is conclusively presumed timely (§279(b)). The federal qualified-disclaimer rule of IRC §2518 runs on the same 9 months. Treat the nine-month mark as a hard deadline — after it, the presumption is gone on the state side and the federal gift-tax protection is gone entirely.
• You can’t have touched it first. Accept any benefit from the asset — take a distribution, move into the house, cash a dividend check, sell it — and your right to disclaim that interest is gone. Decide before you act like an owner.
• Delivery matters. The disclaimer has to be delivered to the right person — typically the trustee, personal representative, or other holder of the interest — and for real property it should also be recorded. Get this step right or the whole thing can fail.

Where the property goes — and why you must check first

This is the most misunderstood part. When you disclaim, the law treats you as having predeceased the person who left you the property. The share then flows to whoever the will, trust, or intestacy statute says takes next — not to whomever you’d prefer.

So before you sign anything, trace the destination. If your mother’s trust says your share goes to your children if you don’t survive her, a disclaimer sends it to your kids — probably what you wanted. But if the document says a deceased child’s share goes to the surviving siblings, your disclaimer just enriched your brother. And if there’s no will at all, the share follows California’s intestacy ladder — see our guide to what happens when someone dies without a will in California and how per stirpes vs. per capita language changes who takes. Read the document, map the fallback, then decide.

The traps that turn a clean disclaimer into a mess

• Public benefits. If you receive Medi-Cal or other need-based benefits, disclaiming an inheritance can be treated as a transfer of assets — potentially triggering ineligibility periods. This is a real trap with real consequences. Don’t disclaim anything while on or near public benefits without getting specific advice first.
• Creditors. Disclaiming to keep an inheritance away from your own creditors or a bankruptcy trustee can be attacked as a fraudulent transfer, and in some situations it simply doesn’t work. If you’re being chased by creditors, get advice before you sign — the disclaimer may protect nothing and cost you options.
• Retirement accounts. You can disclaim an inherited IRA or 401(k), but the beneficiary-designation fallback controls where it goes, and the income-tax consequences for the next taker differ. Check the custodian’s form and the contingent beneficiary before deciding.
• It’s irrevocable. There is no undo. Once delivered, a disclaimer is final even if the next-in-line beneficiary surprises you.

How do I refuse an inheritance in California?

Sign a written disclaimer that identifies the decedent, describes the interest you’re refusing, and states that you disclaim it (Prob. Code §278), then deliver it to the trustee or personal representative — and record it if real estate is involved. Do it within 9 months of the death, and before you accept any benefit from the asset.

What is the deadline to disclaim an inheritance?

Nine months. California conclusively presumes a disclaimer timely if filed within 9 months of death (Prob. Code §279(b)), and IRC §2518 requires the same 9 months for the disclaimer to avoid federal gift-tax treatment. Miss it and you lose the certainty on both fronts.

Can I disclaim an inheritance and give it to someone else?

No — that’s the defining limit. A disclaimed interest passes as if you predeceased the person who left it, following the will, trust, or intestacy rules. If the document’s fallback happens to name the person you’d have chosen, great; if not, a disclaimer is the wrong tool, and accepting the inheritance and making gifts (with gift-tax consequences) may be the honest alternative.

Does disclaiming an inheritance count as a gift for tax purposes?

Not if it’s a qualified disclaimer — written, timely (9 months), no benefits accepted, and no direction of where it goes (IRC §2518). The property is treated as passing directly from the decedent to the next beneficiary, using none of your gift exclusion or your $15 million lifetime exemption. California adds no tax of its own: no state estate tax, no state gift tax.

Can I disclaim just part of an inheritance?

Yes. California allows partial disclaimers — you can refuse the over-mortgaged rental and keep the brokerage account, or disclaim a fraction of a single gift. Each disclaimed piece still has to satisfy the §278 formalities and the 9-month clock.

What happens if I disclaim while I’m on Medi-Cal or owe creditors?

Proceed carefully — this is where disclaimers go wrong. Refusing an inheritance can be counted as a transfer of assets for benefits-eligibility purposes, and disclaiming to dodge creditors can be challenged as a fraudulent transfer. Neither situation is a do-it-yourself disclaimer; get specific advice before signing anything.

The bottom line

A disclaimer is a scalpel: precise, permanent, and only right for specific jobs — the asset you genuinely don’t want, or the inheritance that serves your family better one generation down. The mechanics are simple (a signed writing, delivered within 9 months, before you touch the asset), but the destination analysis isn’t, and the benefits and creditor traps are real. Most heirs don’t need to disclaim anything. If you’re holding one of the exceptions — a timeshare, an underwater property, or a share you’d rather send to your kids — Talk to Eric before the nine months run.

Sources: Prob. Code §§260–295 (disclaimers); §278 (contents: writing, signed, identifying creator and interest); §279(b) (conclusively timely within 9 months); IRC §2518 (federal qualified disclaimer); IRC §2010(c) as amended by OBBBA, P.L. 119-21 ($15,000,000 exemption, permanent); 2026 annual gift exclusion $19,000.