IRS Gives Wealthy Families More Time to Shelter Assets from Estate Tax

The federal government is giving widows and widowers more time to deal with the intricacies of the estate tax after a spouse dies.

When one spouse dies, their partner often inherits all or part of the deceased person’s estate. The surviving spouse receives those funds tax-free. They can also carry over the deceased’s unused estate tax exclusion if they file an estate tax return and choose what the Internal Revenue Service calls portability.