I should have added that I'm German, and here the estate tax is only exempt on the first €500k for spouses and €400k for each child. And everything above is tax

I should have added that I'm German, and here the estate tax is only exempt on the first €500k for spouses and €400k for each child. And everything above is taxed between 25% and 50% depending on your income tax bracket. Real estate is exempt if the heirs continue to live in it for at least 10 years. Edit: And yet I've heard the calls for 90%-100% estate tax from voices in Germany...