A California family with a company in Los Angeles, a rental in Arizona and an heir in Texas has three sets of rules and one set of goals. A New Orleans tax attorney explains why coordination matters more as geography spreads, using the 2026 California top 1% estimate of $987,325 and current federal figures.
By Dr. Tamara Patzer
A Los Angeles owner builds a company. Over the years the family buys a rental house in Arizona, a daughter moves to Austin and a brother-in-law holds a share of the business from a home in Nevada. None of that is unusual. What it adds up to is a family with assets, relatives and legal obligations in four places and a single set of goals. Attorney Todd M. Villarrubia of New Orleans, who concentrates on tax and estate work, wrote Entrepreneurial B.E.A.S.T. Mode™ for families in that position. His point is that each added place multiplies the coordination problem.
Where does a California owner stand against the top 1% line?
One 2026 estimate counts $987,325 of income as the entry point to California’s top 1%, though SmartAsset projects it from older IRS data and counts filers, not households1. That is among the higher thresholds in the country. It matters to this discussion for a simple reason: a family near that line usually has income from several sources, in several forms, and often in several states.
An owner can be far below the line in most years and cross it in the year of a sale. The planning, however, has to be in place long before that year.
Why does geography complicate planning?
Because rules differ by place, and the family has to follow all of them. Property in one state is governed by that state’s real estate and probate practice. A relative in another state may face different income and inheritance rules. A company may register in one state and operate in several. A will written by a California attorney has to work when assets sit elsewhere.
None of this is cause for alarm. It is cause for a plan that names every state in which the family has a stake, and for advisers who are licensed or who work with colleagues licensed where needed.
What does the book say about coordination?
It stresses that the strength of a plan lies in the way its parts fit. As Villarrubia puts it, “The real power lies not in individual strategies, but in their coordinated application.” A family in several states has more individual strategies than most, and a greater need to ensure that they do not clash.
He describes the remedy this way: “The answer lies in establishing a family office, which not only manages assets but also simplifies complexity.” Simplicity does not mean fewer assets. It means that the family can see what it has, in one place, and know who is responsible for each part.
What should the family map?
Four lists. The first is every asset, with its state and the name in which it is held. The second is every relative or partner with a stake, and where they live. The third is every adviser, with the states where they practice. The fourth is every legal document, with its date and its governing law.
When the four lists are side by side, mismatches appear. A property held by an old entity in another state. A will that predates a move. A partner whose agreement names a successor who has since died. These are common, and none of them is expensive to fix when found early.
How do federal tax thresholds fit?
They apply wherever the family lives. The IRS says the 3.8 percent Net Investment Income Tax applies once modified adjusted gross income passes $200,000 for single filers, $250,000 for joint filers and $125,000 for married individuals filing separately3. A California family with rental income in Arizona and investment income from a sale has to consider those totals across all sources.
State income tax rules come on top of the federal ones, and they differ. The point is not to memorize them. It is to make sure that a tax professional with the full picture, including out-of-state income, runs the numbers before the year ends.
What about the next generation?
Heirs are the most mobile part of the plan. Cerulli Associates expects $124 trillion to pass between U.S. generations through 2048, including $105 trillion to heirs and $18 trillion to charity2. In a mobile country, many of those heirs will live far from where the wealth was built.
That makes shared understanding more important. A daughter in Austin who has never seen the company’s papers is poorly placed to help if her parents cannot act. The book frames the aim as continuity of purpose, with families that keep wealth sharing the reasons behind it. The family that has talked it through is better prepared.
What can a California family do this quarter?
- Make the four lists described above and put them on one page.
- Ask your attorney whether the estate documents account for property and people in other states.
- Ask your tax professional to run an estimate that includes out-of-state income.
- Hold one meeting with all advisers and, if possible, the adult children.
- Decide who will keep the lists current.
Those steps cost little. They also reveal whether the family needs a larger coordinating structure. For some, a lead adviser and a calendar suffice. For others, a family office is a sensible next step.
What mistakes recur?
Treating each state as a separate project. Relying on a single adviser to know the rules of every place. Assuming that a plan written ten years ago still fits. A family can avoid all three by treating the plan as a living document.
What does a good first meeting cover?
Keep it short and concrete. Bring the four lists, ask each adviser to name one risk they see in another state, and write down the answers. Agree on who will chase each open item and by when. Even thirty minutes of that kind of talk gives the family a better view than a year of separate phone calls. Send the notes to everyone afterward so the next meeting starts from the same page.
Common questions
Do I need an attorney in every state? Not always. Your lead attorney can advise on when local counsel is needed.
Does moving change my plan? Often. A move is a good reason to have an attorney re-read your documents.
Is the California figure a rule? No. It is a projection by SmartAsset, not a legal line, and it will change1.
Sources
- SmartAsset, Income Needed to Be in the Top 1% in Every State (2026)
- NAPA-Net, Wealth Transfers Expected to Hit $124 Trillion Through 2048 (reporting Cerulli)
- Internal Revenue Service, Topic no. 559, Net Investment Income Tax
About the author. Dr. Tamara Patzer is a publisher and former newspaper editor. She was on the staff of The Charlotte Sun when it was named a 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for its Hurricane Charley coverage.
About the source. Todd M. Villarrubia is an attorney with an LL.M. in Taxation and a Juris Doctorate. He is an Accredited Estate Planner, a Board Certified Expert in Estate Planning and Administration, and a Fiduciary Investment Advisor Representative. He is the author of Entrepreneurial B.E.A.S.T. Mode™. Wealth Planning Law Group, 101 W. Robert E. Lee Blvd., Ste 404, New Orleans, LA 70124. Phone: 504-982-8207; email: todd@lawealthplan.com; website: https://lawealthplan.com/?utm_source=newsanchored&utm_medium=la-wire&utm_campaign=family-office
Attorney advertising. Sponsored feature written on behalf of Todd M. Villarrubia. This article is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Results vary.
