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One of your most powerful estate preservation tools! Federal estate tax law provides an unlimited marital deduction for U.S. citizens—one of the most powerful estate preservation tools available. If you distribute assets to your surviving spouse, he or she receives them estate and gift tax-free. If property passes outright to your spouse through a will, trust, or operation of law, it should qualify for the unlimited marital deduction at your death. However, it will be included in the taxable estate of your spouse unless it is spent or gifted during the survivor's lifetime, or unless the surviving spouse remarries and the unlimited marital deduction allows the estate to pass to his or her surviving spouse. Important—Transferring all assets at the first death is generally not advisable, except for small estates where all property of both spouses will not surpass one (1) applicable exclusion amount. |