By: Crystal Carpino, Esq.
February 3, 2026
Part 2: Estate Planning for Growing-Net-Worth and High-Net-Worth Families in California: Building Flexibility and Options For Your Loved Ones.
A funny thing happens when you start doing well: people skip the basics when talking to you and assume you already have everything handled. It might look like you have it all together on the outside, but on the inside, it’s a big ball of loose ends and good intentions. But here’s the simple truth: the more you accumulate, the more planning you have to do.
If your household income is rising, your investments are growing, or you’re buying real estate or building a business you know is gold, then your estate plan should reflect not only where you are today, but where you could be in five or ten years. As your portfolio grows, your estate plan becomes less about “what if we die tomorrow” and becomes more about “how do we protect what we’re building while we’re still alive?” For couples looking at a growing nest egg, a basic estate plan might seem sufficient now but become a tax liability in the future. Read on for two estate planning strategies that show how thinking ahead and choosing the right structure can help you tax-proof your wealth, avoid costly mistakes, and give you peace of mind.
For Growing-Net-Worth Married Couples: Build Flexibility with the Marital Disclaimer Trust.
If you’re still climbing the ladder to financial success and freedom for future generations, your biggest need is flexibility. You don’t want to lock yourself into a complicated tax-driven plan before you actually know the size of your estate.
Enter: The Marital Disclaimer Trust.
A Marital Disclaimer Trust is essentially a “flexibility clause” built into your estate plan. You set up the structure now, but the surviving spouse decides later – based on the size of your estate at the death of the first spouse – whether to activate the trust structure for maximum tax savings or keep things simple because your estate didn’t grow as much as you thought it would. Setting up a Marital Disclaimer Trust is like building an offramp into your estate plan: if your wealth ends up growing substantially, the Marital Disclaimer Trust is there to protect assets from potential tax liability and to streamline decisions; if life stays simpler, the plan stays simple, too.
Bottom Line: The Marital Disclaimer Trust is the perfect middle ground for couples who expect their net worth to increase but aren’t necessarily in high stakes tax territory quite yet.
For High-Net-Worth Married Couples: Consider an A/B Trust.
Once the size of your estate expands into multiple properties, large investment accounts, business interests and/or inherited wealth, you may want to explore a more advanced estate plan.
Enter: The A/B Trust.
This type of estate plan automatically separates the estate at the death of the first spouse. Part of the estate goes to the surviving spouse via Trust A, and the rest of the estate gets set aside into Trust B – the bypass trust. Why is this important? Setting aside assets into the bypass trust can: (1) help protect assets from issues pertaining to creditors or subsequent marriages; (2) preserve the deceased spouse’s tax exemptions; and (3) protect specific gifts from being altered or eliminated.
Bottom Line: If you know your estate is large, the A/B trust structure gives you built-in protection and tax savings from day one.
Which One is Right For You?
It depends! Your estate plan shouldn’t limit your future. It should move and grow with you and protect what you’re building while hanging out quietly in the background – there when you need it. And what’s best is that all of this starts with a simple conversation. Not with paperwork, not with perfection. Just your appointment on the calendar. The rest unfolds from there.
The information presented in this Article is not to be taken as legal advice. Every person’s situation is different. If you are facing a legal issue of any kind, get competent legal advice in your State immediately so that you can determine your best options.
