Estate Planning Guides
Plain-language guides on estate planning, probate, and tax-saving strategies. Not legal advice, see a qualified estate planning attorney for your situation.
According to the Internal Revenue Service Statistics of Income, estate-tax returns are filed only for estates above the federal exemption, which the One Big Beautiful Bill Act made a permanent $15,000,000 per person effective 2026 (signed July 4, 2025). These guides explain how that exemption, the 40% federal top rate, and the rules of the 13 states (plus DC) that levy their own estate tax fit together, drawing on the Tax Foundation 2024 survey and official federal data. See our methodology for the full source list.
Estate Planning Basics
The fundamentals of estate planning: wills, trusts, beneficiary designations, and how to protect your assets and loved ones.
How Probate Works
A step-by-step breakdown of the probate process, what happens after death, court filings, timelines, and how to minimize costs.
How to Avoid Probate
Practical strategies to help your estate bypass probate entirely, including living trusts, TOD designations, and joint ownership.
The 2026 Estate Tax "Sunset" - Repealed
The TCJA exemption was scheduled to drop to ~$7M after 2025, but the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (July 2025) repealed the sunset and set a permanent $15M exemption. What actually happened.
Community Property vs. Common Law States
How your state's property system affects estate planning, taxes, and the critical double step-up in basis advantage.
Gift Tax Explained
The $18,000 annual exclusion, the permanent $15M lifetime exemption, and how gifts reduce your estate tax exemption.
Types of Trusts for Estate Planning
Revocable, irrevocable, bypass, QTIP, charitable, and special needs trusts, what each does and when to use them.
Methodology
Our guides are based on publicly available data from authoritative government sources. All statistics, ratings, and figures cited in these guides are drawn directly from official datasets and publications, with sources clearly referenced throughout.
We aim to present complex government data in plain language that is accessible to general audiences. When methodologies differ between data sources or change over time, we note these variations inline. Guides are dated and updated when the underlying public data is refreshed.
Every figure on PlainEstate is rendered directly from IRS Statistics of Income and state statutory data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on IRS Statistics of Income and state statutory data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.