Legal Question in Investment Law in California

You can't. If it was issued to you in your name, it's your income.

I don't agree. Dividend payers and financial institutions don't always know the beneficial owner of securities. For example, a divorced couple I know split their stock ownership in a small business between them, but the dividend checks keep coming in his name. He pays half of it to her, and each reports half the income, attaching an explanatory statement to their separate tax returns as to why the 1099 information and the reported income don't match. Neither has had their returns questioned in 10+ years. Nevertheless, I'd caution you that arbitrarily shifting income from one person to another (e.g., to take advantage of a lower bracket) is illegal. You must be certain the income truly belongs to the person declaring it.