Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

You are mixing legal terms in your question that indicates you need to consult an attorney for advice on administration of the estate or trust. A trustee manages a trust. Your use of the term inheritance indicates that this is a probate matter which has an executor or adminstrator to administer an estate. You need to determine what you are administering!

Whether you are talking about an trust or an estate, you cannot put the money in your own account. You must put the money in a seperate account in the name of you as administrator or executor of the estate or trustee of the trust. You can get in serious trouble if you put the money in your own account.

This year the exemption for estate taxes is $5 million. So if the estate is less than $5 million there will be no estate taxes but you must file a final tax return. The trustee of a trust or the executor/adminstrator of an estate is responsible for paying taxes from the estate or trust.

It really sounds like you need to hire an attorney to assist you.

A trust account should be opened for all money into and out of the estate. Co mingling the money is very bad idea. Taxes? There is no inheritance tax in CA or Federal Estate Tax under $5M estate. It is not income to the beneficiary, so I do not know what you are talking about there.

If you mean taxes on any interest earned by the "inheritance" whilst in the personal account, I would think that your bank would issue a 1099 form under your personal SS # and you would have to declare and pay taxes on the interest.