The time, trouble, and expense of a guardianship can be avoided by designating in a will a trustee or custodian for any minor beneficiaries. Often, the result is dramatically different from your wishes. Your remaining property would go to your children. If you have any stepchildren, they would not inherit from you. North Carolina estate tax also is imposed but is offset by a federal credit for state death taxes.
Death Is Certainly Inevitable.
There are several ways to avoid or reduce federal and North Carolina death taxes. First, the unlimited marital deduction permits any property left to a spouse to pass free of death taxes. The property must be left either outright to the spouse or in a specially designed trust for the spouse. Second, the unlimited charitable deduction allows any property left to a qualified charity to pass free of death taxes. By virtue of the unlimited marital deduction, there will be no tax at the first death, but the first spouse's exclusion amount is wasted.