Here's a site that offers information about taxes in all US states.

http://www.retirementliving.com/RLtaxes.html

Very helpful site, Dotsie, thanks!

EW, it is the amount which is not subject to IHT. In the UK, £1 to £312,000 is nil band rate which means no inheritance tax is levied. Any excess past £312,000 would be subject to IHT of 40%. So, if the estate is worth £320,000 only £8,000 would be taxable.

Thanks Lola. I think 307,000.-- Euro inheritance is tax free for spouses. For children it's 205,000.-- Euro. If I understand the law correctly, the tax rate is set according to what tax bracket the beneficiary is in. For example, if you earn less than 256,000,- /yr., you would have to pay 7% inheritance taxes.
Considering the fact that you are a lawyer, you might be interested in more detail: German inheritance taxes

Thanks. I've only had two Probate matters at Nachlassgericht which were straightforward. It was very protracted though because we had to translate Deutsche documents to English und mein Deutsche ist nicht gut.

Lola, how are law firms holding in the UK? I'm curious b/c some local law firms are laying off employees, including attorneys.

The unthinkable has happened here as well, Mustang. The "Magic Circle" i.e. elite law firms in terms of size, diverse practice and international partnerships, have made redundant many partners, fee earners and staff. Fixed-salaried fee earners in some firms have taken cut-backs in take-home pay to avoid redundancies. Medium-sized and old firms are much better off except where commercial practices are concerned because those areas are slow at the moment but, there is enough work to go around and their legal fees and admin costs are lower. Everyone's forced to be frugal. I am with a firm that was established in the 1800's so, like many old firms, it pretty much knows how to ride the waves without making people redundant. It has been through a few, needless to say.

Apparently among the big (national) Canadian law firms, the areas of law that are quite strong right now is: bankrupcty/insolvency law. Canadian companies need legal advice to find ways to avoid bankruptcy because it hurts their business/public reputation later on ,when the economy recovers. Also how a company can change its business model/restructure legally without putting themselves in financial disaster.