Most California couples do not, and that is worth saying plainly. With the federal exemption at $15 million per person in 2026 and California imposing no estate tax of its own, an estate below those thresholds has no federal estate tax to fund. Where it still earns its place is an estate near or above the exemption, or one concentrated in a business, ranch, or property nobody wants to sell quickly. Your CPA should confirm where you sit. Current as of August 2026.
Related FAQs
Often yes, and that is one of the practical reasons couples look at it. Because the payout waits for the second death, underwriting can sometimes accommodate a health history that ...
Usually, because the insurer is pricing one death rather than two. Insuring two lives on one contract with a single payout at the second death generally costs less than two ...
Only on the death of the second insured, not the first. That is the whole design. The unlimited marital deduction means no federal estate tax is generally due at the ...
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