[widgeon13]

The below are the current guidelines for federal filing. You can pass 5 Mil to you wife simply by using a good will. The state may also want it's cut. If you have no children it's pretty straightforward otherwise you might want to set up a trust for your children. If you net worth is over 5 Mil, the picture changes pretty dramatically and a lot depends on your state of residence. If you can get some guidance for $670 it's probably a good deal. I have paid $450/ hr for an estate lawyer to give me some guidance.

"Most relatively simple estates (cash, publicly traded securities, small amounts of other easily valued assets, and no special deductions or elections, or jointly held property) do not require the filing of an estate tax return. A filing is required for estates with combined gross assets and prior taxable gifts exceeding $1,500,000 in 2004 - 2005; $2,000,000 in 2006 - 2008; $3,500,000 for decedents dying in 2009; and $5,000,000 or more for decedent's dying in 2010 and 2011 (note: there are special rules for decedents dying in 2010); $5,120,000 in 2012 and $5,250,000 in 2013.'