Wealth & retirement · super (composes 4 primitives)
Estate planning master
Type your assets, life insurance, and state. We chain federal estate-tax exposure (above $13.99M exemption), state-level estate-tax (CT/HI/IL/MD/MA/MN/NJ/NY/OR/RI/VT/WA/DC), step-up-in-basis savings for unrealized gains, the term-life coverage gap to protect dependents, and probate-vs-trust cost.
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Inputs
Result
No estate tax owed. Step-up saves heirs $107,100 of capital-gains tax. Life insurance gap: $1,090,000.
Critical gap: $1,090,000 of term life coverage is the highest-leverage gap. $490 (rough est.) buys 20-yr level term to close it.
- 1
Federal exemption (married, portability)
$27,980,000
$1,800,000 estate vs $27,980,000 exemption (sunsets to ~$7M end of 2025; this assumes 2026 levels).
- 2
Federal estate tax (40%)
$0
Below exemption — none owed
- 3
State estate tax (No state estate tax)
$0
Your state doesn't impose estate tax.
- 4
Step-up basis savings to heirs
$107,100
$450,000 unrealized gains × 23.8% LTCG eliminated at death
- 5
Life insurance need (replacement)
$1,590,000
$110,000 × 14 yrs + $50,000 immediate
- 6
Life insurance gap
$1,090,000
Add $1,090,000 of term coverage
- 7
Probate vs trust cost
Probate $72,000
Trust saves $61,500 + privacy + speed (months not years)
Assumptions & notes
- Federal exemption is $13.99M per individual in 2026 (estimate); slated to sunset to ~$7M at end of 2025 unless extended. Married couples use portability for 2× exemption.
- State estate-tax exemptions are independent and often lower than federal — particularly OR, WA, MA, RI, MN, NY (when below $7M).
- Step-up assumes the asset isn't held in an IRA or 401(k) (those don't get step-up).
- ILIT (Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust) keeps life insurance death benefit out of the gross estate — meaningful only when above federal exemption.
Multi-scenario comparison
What if — ±20% on one input
| Scenario | Gross estate value (everything you own) | Headline | Δ vs baseline | Magnitude |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| −20% (cautious) | $1,440,000 | No estate tax owed. Step-up saves heirs $107,100 of capital-gains tax. Life insurance gap: $1,090,000. | 0 | |
| Baseline | $1,800,000 | No estate tax owed. Step-up saves heirs $107,100 of capital-gains tax. Life insurance gap: $1,090,000. | 0 | |
| +20% (aggressive) | $2,160,000 | No estate tax owed. Step-up saves heirs $107,100 of capital-gains tax. Life insurance gap: $1,090,000. | 0 |
Try the input with the highest sensitivity (above). The Δ column shows the dollar swing from a 20% move — that's how much room you have for a counter, raise, or hedge.
Goal seek
Solve for an input value
Pick the input you want to vary and the output you care about. We'll find the input value that gets you to the target. Bisection-based; converges in < 50 iterations.
Monte Carlo simulation
Distribution under input uncertainty (500 trials)
We perturb every numeric input with normal-distributed noise (10–25% sigma depending on input type) and run 500 compute trials. The output is a probability distribution, not a single number — closer to how finance actually works.
Most-leveraged inputs (sensitivity analysis)
Where to focus — what moves the answer most
Each input perturbed ±10%; measured impact on Federal exemption (married, portability). Higher elasticity = bigger lever.
- 1
Gross estate value (everything you own)
Elasticity ↕ 0.00× — 10% change in this input affects Federal exemption (married, portability) by 0.0%.
- 2
Unrealized capital gains (incl. real estate appreciation)
Elasticity ↕ 0.00× — 10% change in this input affects Federal exemption (married, portability) by 0.0%.
- 3
Current life insurance coverage
Elasticity ↕ 0.00× — 10% change in this input affects Federal exemption (married, portability) by 0.0%.
- 4
Annual income that needs to be replaced
Elasticity ↕ 0.00× — 10% change in this input affects Federal exemption (married, portability) by 0.0%.
ShowMath is the only calc site that surfaces this. Adjust the highest-leverage input first — that's where small moves create big results.
Chain payload (for the 3D constellation)
{
"slug": "estate-planning-master",
"depth": 1,
"primitives": [
"estate-tax-calculator",
"term-life-coverage-calculator",
"step-up-basis-calculator",
"probate-cost-calculator"
],
"composes": [],
"chain": [
{
"key": "fed_exemption",
"label": "Federal exemption (married, portability)",
"primitive": "estate-tax-calculator",
"numeric": 27980000
},
{
"key": "fed_estate_tax",
"label": "Federal estate tax (40%)",
"numeric": 0
},
{
"key": "state_estate_tax",
"label": "State estate tax (No state estate tax)",
"numeric": 0
},
{
"key": "step_up_basis",
"label": "Step-up basis savings to heirs",
"primitive": "step-up-basis-calculator",
"numeric": 107100
},
{
"key": "life_insurance_need",
"label": "Life insurance need (replacement)",
"primitive": "term-life-coverage-calculator",
"numeric": 1590000
},
{
"key": "life_insurance_gap",
"label": "Life insurance gap",
"numeric": 1090000
},
{
"key": "probate_vs_trust",
"label": "Probate vs trust cost",
"primitive": "probate-cost-calculator",
"numeric": 72000
}
]
}The chain explained
Each step above corresponds to a primitive calculator. Click any to see the stand-alone version with its own explainer + sources.
- estate tax calculatorshipping soon
- term life coverage calculatorshipping soon
- step up basis calculatorshipping soon
- probate cost calculatorshipping soon
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