A gross estate value does not consider the debts and tax liabilities of the estate. Once liabilities are deducted from a gross estate value, the remaining sum represents the estate's net value.
The items that are NOT included in the gross estate of a decedent are proceeds from a life insurance policy held in a revocable trust, the first $250,000 of a primary residence if owned singly or $500,000 if owned jointly with a spouse, and proceeds from a life insurance policy owned by the deceased's spouse.
Irrevocable trusts: Assets in irrevocable trusts are often excluded, as the decedent no longer has ownership or control over them. Retirement and annuity accounts: Certain retirement accounts or annuities with designated beneficiaries may bypass the estate, transferring directly to heirs.
Gross estate includes essentially all substantially valuable property owned by the person at death, including real estate, cash, stocks, life insurance, jewelry, furniture, and owed debts.
The total of all of these items is your "Gross Estate." The includible property may consist of cash and securities, real estate, insurance, trusts, annuities, business interests and other assets.
Personal property.
Household items go through probate, along with clothing, jewelry, and collections. The inventory should include the decedent's personal belongings that remain after death.
At your death, if you own retirement plan assets, the assets are included in your estate. That is, your 401(k) plan, IRA, tax-deferred annuities, etc., are included in your estate even if you have not yet received the money.
Money in joint accounts
Normally this means that the surviving joint owner automatically owns the money. The money does not form part of the deceased person's estate for administration and therefore does not need to be dealt with by the executor or administrator.
Taxable estate is equal to the value of the total gross estate less deductions for the following: funeral expenses, executor's commissions, attorneys' fees, other expenses and losses, debts and mortgages, bequests to the surviving spouse, bequests to charities, and state death taxes.
Your estate consists of all property and personal belongings you own or are entitled to possess at the time of your death. This includes real estate, personal property, cash, savings and checking accounts, stocks, bonds, automobiles, jewelry, etc.
Irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT): If the policy ownership was transferred to an ILIT more than three years before the decedent's death, its proceeds are generally not part of the gross estate.
While the gross income metric factors in the direct cost of producing or providing goods and services, it does not include other costs related to selling activities, administration, taxes, and other costs related to running the overall business.
The Fine Print: Death Benefits Count
If you own a policy worth a million dollars and it pays out upon your death, this amount will be counted in your gross estate. And if you're over the exemption amount ($12.92mm in 2023), your estate will pay 40% on that million of death benefit dollars.
The gross estate consists of the value of all property (real or personal, tangible or intangible) owned by a decedent or in which the decedent had an interest at the time of death. See I.R.C. § 2031(a). Generally, assets are included in the gross estate at their fair market value on the date of the decedent's death.
Generally, the value of gifts (other than gifts of life insurance) made by a decedent is not included in the gross estate (although lifetime taxable gifts can reduce the amount of the applicable exclusion available to the estate).
Because US Savings Bonds are federal assets, they do not have to abide by the California Probate Code. The threshold for US savings bonds must go through probate is $100,000 or more.
What is Considered Part of the Estate? Assets: Personal possessions. Real property (real estate: houses, condos)
Any property that is jointly owned with a right of survivorship does not become part of the estate and passes directly to the other owner outside of probate. Examples include real property jointly owned by a married couple, joint ownership on a bank account, or co-owners on a vehicle.
Probate Assets
This personal property may include items such as money in a non-joint bank account and stocks. It also can include cars, furniture, jewelry, art, real estate, and personal items. If two people own a home as “joint tenants in common,” the share of the person who died would go to probate.
While administrators have authority over an estate's assets, they can't simply take everything.
Many people worry about the estate tax affecting the inheritance they pass along to their children, but it's not a reality most people will face. In 2025, the first $13,990,000 of an estate is exempt from federal estate taxes, up from $13,610,000 in 2024. Estate taxes are based on the size of the estate.
The gross estate is the total sum of all assets held by a person at a given time or at his death. The assets may include cash, securities, property, real estate, jewelry, and other assets owned. Adjusted gross estate deducts the liabilities from the gross estate.
While beneficiaries don't owe income tax on money they inherit, if their inheritance includes an individual retirement account (IRA), they will have to take distributions from it over a certain period and, if it is a traditional IRA rather than a Roth, pay income tax on that money.