And people with older wills should have them reviewed now, due to a new law from Congress

A federal estate tax return doesn’t have to be filed every time someone dies. In fact, most estates never have to file one. In 2011 and 2012, a return has to be filed only if the person’s estate (including property, life insurance, taxable gifts, etc.) is worth $5 million or more.

However, even if a return isn’t required, a recent change in the law means there could be big tax savings for many families if they file one anyway.

The change applies to estates of people who die in 2011 or 2012 and are survived by a spouse.

There are strict time limits for filing a return, so if you know of someone whose family could take advantage of these savings, you or they should speak with an attorney right away.

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Did you know that your will does not determine who gets your IRA or your 401(k) account when you die?

That’s right – these accounts are “non-probate” assets, which means they’re not covered by your will. Instead, they will generally go to whatever person you named as the beneficiary when you set up the account.

Similarly, your will doesn’t determine who gets your life insurance – that will go to the named beneficiary on the policy. And your brokerage account might have a beneficiary as well.

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Before you name someone as an executor or a trustee in your will – or before you agree to be an executor or a trustee – it’s a good idea to review exactly what responsibilities are involved.

These are serious jobs, and sometimes people don’t give enough thought to which person should be chosen.

Often, people simply name a spouse, a child, or a family friend. This might seem like a logical choice, and the person might expect to be given such a role, but that doesn’t mean they’re necessarily the best person for the job – particularly if they’re not detail-oriented, good with figures, and adept at handling money. Many people who quickly agree to act in these roles later come to regret it.

An executor’s job typically lasts about a year, and involves a lot of responsibility. Most executors hire an estate and probate attorney and sometimes other professionals to help them through the steps and make sure they don’t make any mistakes. However, you’ll still want to pick someone who is willing and responsible enough to handle the often difficult and time-consuming tasks.

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A Rhode Island man put some property into a trust. The trust was designed to pay regular income from the property to the man’s son. When the son died, the property was to go to his grandson.

The trustee (a bank) entered into a long-term lease for the property. The result was that when the son died, the grandson didn’t get the property all to himself; instead, he inherited it subject to the lease, which meant he couldn’t immediately sell it.

The grandson sued the bank trustee. But a RI appeals court sided with the bank. It said there was nothing in state law or in the trust agreement that said the trustee couldn’t enter into a long-term lease, if that was otherwise an appropriate use of the property and a good way to provide income to the son.

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If you own land that you want to pass on to your heirs, but you also want to make sure that some historic, scenic, or agricultural value will be maintained and not destroyed by future development, you might be able to accomplish this with a “conservation easement”…and also save taxes at the same time.

A conservation easement is a restriction on your land that says it can never be developed in certain ways. When you create such an easement, you give it to a charity – usually one that has been created to preserve some historic, scenic or agricultural heritage. In some cases you can also give the easement to a government agency.

After that, the charity or agency has the right to enforce the easement and prevent such future development.

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