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The validity of a will is important as an individual's last wishes are carried out in California. State laws can play a role in determining whether a will is considered to be valid.

A valuable home in California can be subject to expensive estate taxes following the death of the property's owner. However, a qualified personal residence trust offers estate planners one technique for insulating heirs from major taxes.

A California resident who is the beneficiary of a trust might wonder about the responsibilities of the trustee. A lack of awareness related to a trust could cause beneficiaries to be concerned about the terms of the trust as well as their rights.

When an individual dies, his or her pets are generally considered to be property. Therefore, they could be sent to a shelter if there is nothing in an estate plan providing for their care.

Californians may have heard of revocable living trusts and they might wonder if they need to set one up. Revocable living trusts allow people to pass assets directly to their beneficiaries without having their estates go through probate, but they are not necessary for many people.

California residents who do not wish to see the property that they have toiled tirelessly to amass lost to creditors or litigants may wish to consider asset protection strategies that go beyond the types of trusts that typically appear in estate plans.

California residents who have IRAs may have used a beneficiary designation to indicate who they wish to receive the funds in the account after their death. Most of the time, this is the best approach.

Affluent investors in California and across the country who, while they are alive, wish to give a significant sum of money to family members can easily do so through annual gifts.

When California residents make their estate plan, they may take steps to minimize their potential tax liability. One consideration toward this goal is state estate tax.

While the executor of an estate is tasked with carrying out the terms of a will or trust, that person generally cannot make decisions on his or her own. In many cases, that person has a fiduciary responsibility to beneficiaries and must also conform to state and federal laws.