CA CLS Estate Planning study guide
CA CLS Estate Planning · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The California Certified Legal Specialist designation in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law is a voluntary credential administered under the State Bar of California's legal specialization program. It signals to clients, courts, and referring attorneys that an attorney has demonstrated a heightened level of experience and knowledge in this field beyond general licensure. The CA CLS Estate Planning study guide has 7 sections and about 2,121 words.
01Estate Planning Fundamentals and Client Counseling
Estate planning is the process of arranging a client's affairs to achieve objectives that fall into four broad buckets: transferring property to intended beneficiaries, minimizing transfer and income taxes, providing for incapacity, and avoiding unnecessary probate or administrative cost. A candidate must know the core documents and their functions: a will (dispositive, probate), a revocable living trust (non-probate dispositive vehicle plus incapacity management), durable powers of attorney for finances and for health care, an advance health care directive, and beneficiary designations on life insurance and retirement accounts.
341 words, about 2 min02Intestate Succession and Probate Administration
When a person dies without a valid will (or with a will that fails to dispose of all property), California's intestacy statutes govern. Key concepts: the surviving spouse's share depends on whether the decedent left children, parents, or siblings, and on whether the property is community or separate.
326 words, about 2 min03Wills, Trusts, and Will Substitutes
A California will requires testamentary intent, capacity, and statutory formalities: a writing, signature (or directed signature), and two witnesses present at the same time who understand they are witnessing a will. Holographic wills need material provisions and signature in the testator's handwriting.
276 words, about 1 min04Trust Administration and Fiduciary Duties
The trustee owes the beneficiaries the duties of loyalty, impartiality, prudence, and accounting. Loyalty forbids self-dealing and conflicts; impartiality requires balancing income and remainder beneficiaries; prudence (the prudent investor rule) governs investment and diversification; and the duty to account requires informing and reporting to beneficiaries.
296 words, about 1 min05Federal and California Transfer Taxes
Federal transfer tax uses a unified credit against a single lifetime exemption that applies to gifts and estates, with a separate GST exemption. Key concepts: gross estate inclusion (including life insurance, retained interests, and powers of appointment under IRC sections 2033-2042), the marital deduction, the charitable deduction, and portability of the deceased spousal unused exclusion (DSUE).
298 words, about 1 min06Income Taxation of Estates and Trusts
Estates and trusts are separate taxpayers. They compute taxable income, then deduct distributions to beneficiaries (the distribution deduction), so income is taxed either to the entity or to the beneficiary, but not both.
306 words, about 2 min07Special Issues: Community Property, Creditors, and Ethics
California is a community property state. Property acquired during marriage with community effort is community property; property acquired before marriage, by gift or inheritance, or traceable to separate property remains separate.
278 words, about 1 min