The estate tax "portability" provision, which was a part of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010, allows a surviving spouse to benefit from the unused exclusion from their spouse's estate. A recent IRS notice provides guidance with respect to an estate where the deceased has died before July 1, 2011.

The portability provision all but eliminates the need for spouses to retitle property, create trusts or use other estate planning maneuvers to solely protect property from incurring additional tax liability after the death of a spouse.