What you choose to include is a personal matter, likely to be dictated by custom, religious preference or simply your own whims. The details of any ceremony you want before the burial or cremation Who your pallbearers will be if you wish to have some How your remains will be transported to the cemetery and gravesite Where your remains will be buried, stored or scattered The details of any ceremony you want to accompany your burial, interment or scattering, and The details of any marker you want to show where your remains are buried or interred. But there are a couple of important exceptions to the general rule. All property left to a spouse is exempt from the tax, as long as the spouse is a U.S. citizen. And estate taxes won't be assessed on any property you leave to a tax-exempt charity.
All states impose death taxes of some kind.
In most cases, there's a state death tax only where a federal estate tax would apply. The state tax is credited dollar for dollar against the federal tax so the state tax is not an extra tax. However, some states impose taxes that operate as extra taxes. Inheritance taxes are paid by your inheritors, not your estate. Typically, how much they pay depends on their relationship to you.