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.
Estate tax owed: zero, because of the marital deduction. Wife now owns $10 million. She dies under circumstances where her husband's exemption is not preserved, leaving her gross estate of $10 million to their children. Because of the $5 million exemption, her taxable estate is only $5 million.