This guide covers the federal transfer tax system and its state analogues from first principles through return preparation. It begins with the unified structure of estate, gift, and generation-skipping taxes and the exemption they share, then works through the annual exclusion and unlimited tuition and medical exclusions that handle most family giving. A full part inventories the gross estate, including retained interests, powers of appointment, and life insurance that surprise families. Separate parts address the marital and charitable deductions, disclaimers, portability and its filing requirement, valuation including discounts and the special rules constraining them, and the generation-skipping tax with its non-portable exemption. Further parts cover the step-up in basis that matters more than the tax to most families, state estate and inheritance taxes, return preparation and payment including installment relief for closely held businesses, planning techniques for families with genuine exposure, and non-citizen spouse issues. Authority is cited and linked throughout.