DOES CALIFORNIA HAVE AN ESTATE TAX OR AN INHERITANCE TAX?

No. California does not have either one of these taxes, which is why a living trust, or revocable trust, works perfectly in California and protects your beneficiaries from having to pay a tax on your estate upon receipt. (There is a federal tax, but this only applies to a single person estate valued at $5.49 million or above and $11 million or above for a couple.)