• Even if a person has been widowed several times, he or she can only use the portable exclusion from the last deceased spouse (in other words, the surviving spouse cannot accumulate multiple portable exclusions). • The portable exclusion can't be any larger than the indexed exclusion in effect at the deceased spouse's death. So that is a brief overview of portability. How can a married couple use it? Here is a possible approach: John and Abby are long-time New Yorkers who have been married for years. They have two children and three grandchildren to whom they've never made more than annual exclusion gifts (currently 514,000 per year to as many people as they want, or 528,000 if they agree to split the gift). They've tried to be smart with their planning, but have been nonplussed at the transfer tax uncertainty, wondering where the exclusion was going to land, and whether there would even be an estate tax when they died. Concemed that they weren't getting any younger. John and Abby finally redid their wills in 2009, and followed their lawyer's advice: let the survivor decide what makes the most sense, tax-wise, when the first of them dies. John's will therefore gives everything to Abby. If she "disclaims," or refuses to accept some of this property, it will pass to a trust that acts like a credit shelter trust by providing for Abby, but passing estate-tax free at her death to their children (Abby's will has similar provisions). John dies at the beginning of 2013, and leaves his $10 million estate to Abby. The problem: if Abby disclaims the entire amount of Johns' exclusion — $5.25 million — she'll take full advantage of what John can protect from federal estate tax, but will trigger at least $420,800 of New York estate tax. If Abby doesn't disclaim anything, there will be no tax at John's death, but she will have wasted John's $1 million New York exclusion. This could mean that unnecessary New York tax will be payable at her death. The solut