Private client and family agreements
Plans that protect your family and assets, including families with property or relatives in more than one country.
Overview
Estate planning is how you decide who receives your property, who cares for your children, and who makes decisions for you if you cannot. In California, the main tools are a will, a revocable living trust, a durable power of attorney for finances, and an advance health care directive. Without a plan, state law decides who inherits, and a court may have to appoint someone to manage your affairs.
A plan also affects cost and time. California probate can take many months, and the law sets attorney and executor fees as a percentage of the estate’s gross value, before subtracting any mortgage. A funded living trust can generally avoid probate. Newer California shortcuts may also help smaller estates and some family homes.
Families with ties to more than one country, or who are about to marry, have extra issues. These include limits on tax-free transfers to a spouse who is not a U.S. citizen, IRS reporting of gifts and inheritances from abroad, and the special rules for premarital and postmarital agreements under the California Family Code.
Key rules to know
- Small estates: for deaths on or after April 1, 2025, heirs may generally collect property by affidavit, without probate, if the California estate subject to probate is worth $208,850 or less (Probate Code 13100). They must wait 40 days after the death. These amounts adjust every three years; the next change is set for April 1, 2028.
- Family home: for deaths on or after April 1, 2025, a simpler court petition (Judicial Council form DE-310) may transfer a decedent’s primary residence worth up to $750,000 without a full probate (Probate Code 13151, as amended by AB 2016).
- Probate fees: if a full probate is needed, Probate Code 10810 sets the attorney’s statutory fee at 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, 1% of the next $9 million, and 0.5% of the next $15 million. The executor may receive the same amount under Probate Code 10800. The fee is based on gross value, not equity.
- Signing rules: a will generally must be signed in front of two witnesses. A durable power of attorney generally must be notarized or signed in front of two qualified witnesses. A trust only avoids probate for property that is actually retitled into it.
- Prop 19: a child who receives a parent’s home may keep the parent’s lower property tax value only if the child makes it their principal residence and files for the homeowners’ exemption within one year. Value above the parent’s taxable value plus an adjusted exclusion ($1,044,586 for transfers from February 16, 2025 through February 15, 2027) is added to the tax base. Other real estate, like rentals, is generally reassessed.
- Federal estate and gift tax: the 2025 federal tax law (Public Law 119-21, often called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act) set the lifetime exemption at $15 million per person for 2026, with inflation adjustments after that. The annual gift exclusion for 2026 is $19,000 per recipient. California has no state estate or inheritance tax.
- Non-citizen spouse: the unlimited marital deduction does not apply when the receiving spouse is not a U.S. citizen. At death, property generally must pass through a Qualified Domestic Trust (QDOT) to defer estate tax. Lifetime gifts to a non-citizen spouse are tax-free only up to an annual limit ($194,000 in 2026).
- Prenups: a premarital agreement is enforceable only if signed voluntarily. For voluntariness, the party generally must have had at least 7 calendar days between receiving the final agreement and signing it, and either had an independent lawyer or waived one in a separate writing after being advised of the terms (Family Code 1615). A spousal support waiver is not enforceable if that party did not have an independent lawyer when signing, or if the waiver is unconscionable at the time of enforcement (Family Code 1612(c)).
How we help
Estate planning
- Wills and revocable living trusts
- Powers of attorney and related documents
- Plans for families with assets in more than one country
Family agreements
- Premarital agreements
- Postmarital agreements
- Guardianship matters
More ways we help
- Preparing trust funding deeds and Prop 19 claim forms so the plan works as designed
- Planning for mixed-citizenship couples, including QDOT provisions and foreign gift reporting coordination with the family’s tax preparer
- Drafting and reviewing premarital and postmarital agreements in English and Chinese for client understanding
- Handling small estate affidavits, primary residence petitions and spousal property petitions after a death
How the process works
Inventory and goals
List assets, how each is titled, beneficiary designations, and any foreign accounts or property. Decide who should inherit and who should serve as trustee, executor, agent and guardian.
Timing: 1-2 meetings
Choose the structure
Decide between a will-based plan and a revocable living trust with a pour-over will. Consider tax, Prop 19, community property and any cross-border issues.
Timing: 1-2 weeks
Draft the documents
Prepare the trust, pour-over will, durable power of attorney, advance health care directive, HIPAA authorization, and guardian nomination for minor children.
Form: Probate Code 4401 statutory power of attorney; Probate Code 4701 health care directive form (optional forms)Timing: 2-4 weeks
Sign correctly
Sign with the required witnesses and notary. A mistake in signing can make a document invalid or open it to challenge.
Timing: 1 meeting
Fund the trust
Record new deeds for real estate and retitle bank and brokerage accounts into the trust. Update beneficiary forms where appropriate.
Form: Trust transfer deed; Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (BOE-502-A)Timing: 2-8 weeks
For prenups or postnups
Exchange full financial disclosures, give the other side the final draft, and wait at least 7 calendar days before signing. Each spouse should have a separate lawyer, especially if spousal support is addressed.
Timing: Start at least 2-3 months before the wedding
Review and update
Revisit the plan after a marriage, divorce, birth, move, large purchase, or change in tax law.
Timing: Every 3-5 years
Documents to gather
- Grant deeds and recent property tax bills for all real estate
- Recent statements for bank, brokerage, and retirement accounts
- Life insurance policies and current beneficiary designations
- Business ownership records (operating agreements, bylaws, stock certificates)
- Any existing will, trust, or power of attorney
- Marriage certificate and any existing premarital or postmarital agreement
- List of foreign bank accounts, foreign real estate, and foreign family gifts or inheritances
- Names and contact information for proposed trustees, executors, agents and guardians
- Recent federal and California income tax returns
- For a prenup: full list of each party’s assets, debts and income
Common problems to avoid
- Signing a living trust but never deeding the house or retitling accounts into it, which can send those assets to probate anyway.
- Adding a child to the title of a home as a quick fix, which can trigger gift tax reporting, Prop 19 reassessment issues, and exposure to the child’s creditors.
- Assuming a spouse who is not a U.S. citizen can inherit everything tax-free, without planning for a QDOT or annual gift limits.
- Failing to report large gifts or inheritances from relatives abroad on IRS Form 3520, which can lead to penalties of up to 25% of the gift.
- Presenting a prenup days before the wedding, which can violate the 7-day rule and make the agreement unenforceable.
- Using an old plan written before a move to California, a marriage, or recent tax law changes.
What has changed lately
For deaths on or after April 1, 2025, the California small estate affidavit limit rose to $208,850, and a new court petition can transfer a primary residence worth up to $750,000 without full probate.
Public Law 119-21 (signed July 4, 2025) set the federal estate and gift tax basic exclusion at $15 million per person for 2026. The annual gift exclusion stays at $19,000.
The Prop 19 parent-child exclusion amount was adjusted to $1,044,586 for transfers from February 16, 2025 through February 15, 2027.
Rules, fees and processing times change often. Ask us to confirm what applies to your case today.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a trust, or is a will enough?
A will names who inherits and who is in charge, but it generally still goes through probate if the estate is above the small estate limits. A funded living trust can usually avoid probate and keep matters private. Many California homeowners use a trust with a pour-over will as a backup.
What happens to my house if I die without a trust?
If the home was held as community property with right of survivorship or in joint tenancy, it may pass to the survivor without probate. For deaths on or after April 1, 2025, a primary residence worth up to $750,000 may qualify for a simpler court petition. Otherwise, a full probate is often required.
Can my children keep my low property tax when they inherit my home?
Under Prop 19, only the family home can qualify, and only if the child moves in as a principal residence and files for the homeowners’ exemption within one year. Part of the value may still be reassessed if the home is worth much more than its current taxable value. Rentals and other property generally are reassessed.
My spouse is not a U.S. citizen. Does that change our plan?
Yes. Transfers to a non-citizen spouse do not get the unlimited marital deduction. A Qualified Domestic Trust (QDOT) may be used to defer estate tax at death, and lifetime gifts are limited each year. Planning ahead may help avoid a large tax bill.
My parents in China or Taiwan want to give me money. Do I owe tax?
Generally, a U.S. person does not pay U.S. tax on a gift or inheritance from a foreign individual. But if the total from foreign individuals or estates is more than $100,000 in a year, you must report it on IRS Form 3520. Foreign accounts totaling more than $10,000 at any time also require an FBAR (FinCEN Form 114).
How far before the wedding should we sign a prenup?
California requires at least 7 calendar days between receiving the final agreement and signing it. In practice, starting months earlier leaves time for disclosure, review by separate lawyers, and negotiation. Rushing can put the agreement at risk.
Can we sign an agreement after we are already married?
Yes, spouses can sign a postmarital agreement. But spouses owe each other fiduciary duties under Family Code 721, and an agreement that gives one spouse an advantage may be presumed to result from undue influence. Full disclosure and separate lawyers help support the agreement.
- Judicial Council of California – Maximum Amounts for Summary Succession Procedures (Probate Code 890)
- Judicial Council form DE-310, Petition to Determine Succession to Primary Residence
- California Probate Code 10810 (statutory attorney fees)
- California Family Code 1615 (enforcement of premarital agreements)
- California Family Code 1612 (content of premarital agreements; spousal support)
- California State Board of Equalization – Prop 19 exclusion inflation adjustment (News Release 25-02)
- IRS – What’s new: Estate and gift tax
- IRS – Gifts from foreign person (Form 3520)
- IRS – Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)
- 26 U.S.C. 2056 and 2056A (marital deduction; qualified domestic trust)
- California Family Code 721 (fiduciary duties between spouses)
Information current as of September 2026. General information only, not legal advice.
Protect your rights, we’ll lead the fight.
General information only, not legal advice. Contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome, and no particular result is promised. Responsible attorney: JJ Zhang, Esq., Tez Law P.C., 4141 S. Nogales St., Suite C102, West Covina, CA 91792.