By Sea Sitka is a year-round port of call for the Alaska Marine Highway System (1-800-642-0066, www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/). These state-operated ferries provide an extraordinary opportunity to navigate the Inside Passage at a leisurely pace.
Spouses in community property states are generally entitled to take all community property at death, and half in the case of divorce. If the husband inherited the property, or took title to it before the marriage, for example, the wife would not automatically be entitled to a share of it.
Because the surviving spouse does not own the property, it is not subject to estate tax. Setting up an AB trust this way keeps the portion of the surviving spouse's estate that is taxable half of what it would be without an AB trust. Imagine a joint trust with $4,000,000 in assets. Husband dies leaving all of the trust property to Wife. Because transfers between spouses are not subject to estate tax, Wife will get the full $4,000,000, tax free.