State of the Estate Tax

Bill and Fred were identical in every respect, same birth date, same income, same taste in music. In fact, the only factor that differentiated them was their spending and savings habit. Bill was a big spender, but Fred was more frugal.

They both died the same day. Bill left some nice possessions to his heirs, worth about a million dollars. Fred left a sizable estate, worth about five million dollars.

Bill’s heirs got to keep all of his stuff.