Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

A trust is an excellent way to do this. You can take maximum advantage of the gift tax exemptions by making the gifts to a "Crummey" trust (named after the individual who won his case in tax court)--the gifts are made to the trust, and your child has a short opportunity to withdraw the gift from the trust, but if he doesn't, the gift remains in the trust and is then subject to the trust conditions. Most beneficiaries don't take advantage of their withdrawal right because they know that if they do, they're much less likely to receive future gifts.

There are other ways to set up a trust that gives you the flexibility and control you need--I'd suggest talking with an estate planning attorney to go over the options, which will depend on the size of your estate, the amount subject to estate/gift tax, and types of assets you have.