Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

You should work with an attorney to prepare a proper trust. It can easily be done where upon the death of the first spouse the separate property of the deceased spouse is distributed per the decedent's wishes. A generic off the shelf trust will not provide for the specific language you will need. I would be happy to discuss your specific facts and answer any further questions you may have.

You absoultely cannot mingle separate and community property in a single trust without losing the separate property characteristics of the separate property, or at the very least taking a significant risk that they will be treated as commuted to community property.

You can state that the character of the property remains the same. You can indeed put separate and community and quasi-community in one trust. It does NOT commute it all to community property at all as long as you draft it properly which is why seeking counsel is imperative. Certainly CAN be done.

I agree with Ms. Johnson.