Estate Planning · answered on camera

Do You Need A Tax Attorney For Estate Planning?

Name: Do You Need A Tax Attorney For Estate Planning?
Uploaded: 2025-09-05T12:00:00Z
Channel: Andrew Dósa
Description: Do you need a tax attorney for estate planning? Usually not, says estate attorney Andrew Dósa—a CPA can handle routine questions. Federal estate tax only hits multi-million-dollar estates, and California has none. Washington does, though, so couples there often use a trust that splits assets at the first death into two shares, keeping each below the state exemption.

Quick answer

Do you need a tax attorney for estate planning? Usually not, says estate attorney Andrew Dósa—a CPA can handle routine questions. Federal estate tax only hits multi-million-dollar estates, and California has none. Washington does, though, so couples there often use a trust that splits assets at the first death into two shares, keeping each below the state exemption.

Excerpt summaries from the video and transcripts · how we make them

Law updateNOTE — current law: Washington's estate-tax exclusion has risen since this interview. Long frozen at $2.193 million, it increased to $3 million on July 1, 2025 (SB 5813), and for deaths on or after July 1, 2026 the exclusion remains $3 million with the top rate rolled back to 20% (SB 6347). California still has no estate tax, and the federal exemption is far higher (about $15 million). Because Washington has no spousal portability, the credit-shelter 'trust split' Dósa describes remains a valid way for couples to preserve both exclusions.

Answered by Andrew Dósa · Tacoma, WA and Oakland, CA

Highlights

0:28

— why a CPA usually covers routine estate-tax questions

1:11

— how California relies on the federal threshold, with no state estate tax

2:19

— the trust structure that shields a couple from estate tax

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you need a tax attorney for estate planning?

Usually not—a CPA can handle routine questions, since federal estate tax only hits multi-million-dollar estates.

Does California have an estate tax?

No—California relies on the federal threshold and has no state estate tax of its own.

How can a couple avoid Washington estate tax?

Washington does have one, so couples often use a trust that splits assets at the first death into two shares, keeping each below the state exemption.

→ Full interview on Attorneys.Media

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Contact Andrew Dósa

Answered by

Andrew Dósa
The Law Offices of Andrew Dósa

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