For the US, where I and the article author are based, there's no federal inheritance tax, and federal estate taxes are assessed only on more than US$12-13 milli

For the US, where I and the article author are based, there's no federal inheritance tax, and federal estate taxes are assessed only on more than US$12-13 million. If someone has to deal with these amounts in the United States, it's much less likely that they lack the means to coordinate the estate. Only six states assess inheritance taxes, and only 12 assess estate taxes. Few (none?) assess those taxes against surviving spouses, children, or parents who inherit, and most are exempt if the inheritance or estate is under US$1 million. I live in one of the 12 estate tax states, and their estate had no such tax obligations as a sole-surviving spouse. As a sole surviving spouse with no children, my state also granted me automatic and immediate default probate control over my partner's estate upon their death, and would have even if they didn't have a formal will. Their will only specified a few of their financial accounts, and my access to their digital estate allowed me to manage the rest either directly or by simply knowing that they exist so I can submit the forms and certificates to close them out. (One such account had a $0 balance; it was purely administrative work, but still necessary.) Having children, ex-spouses, or legal guardianship over a dependent all complicate these considerably, but in many cases it really is this simple.