I've tried researching this and the legalese leaves me confused. In the state of CA for someone who has died recently and left her two children the value of her estate which is primarily her home and annuities totaling less then a million dollars, is there any state tax due? Is there any federal tax due? It seems that given the amount, there isn't. Is this correct? Thanks.

There would be inheritance tax due, there is always tax due, why not a legacy.

You can verify this on the CA Franchise Tax Board website (Google it), but I suspect that the size of the estate dictates that NO California inheritance tax is due.

Most states follow the federal guidelines for estate taxes, and federal minimum is $2 million.