Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Disqualified Beneficiaries

Who Is a Disqualified Beneficiary?

California law, specifically California probate code sections §§21350-21356, provides that certain transfers (such as gifts made at death by will or trust) are presumed invalid. Subject to certain exceptions, the following are each presumed invalid:

  • a gift to the person who drafted the instrument;
  • a gift to a “fiduciary” (such as an agent under a power of attorney) who transcribes the instrument (or causes it to be transcribed);
  • a gift to a care custodian of a dependent adult,
  • a gift to a person related to or associated with any of the foregoing persons.

“It is the trade of lawyers to question everything, yield nothing, and to talk by the hour.”

- Author: Thomas Jefferson