In the US, you can give your property to whomever you like... <i>and they have to pay taxes on it as income</i>.<p>I&#x27;m not sure why your children should be exempt from paying taxes on the gift of an estate.  Call it &quot;death tax&quot; if you want, but really the <i>lack</i> of an estate tax is tax break privilege for the wealthy.  The estate tax is simply a decision of what the income tax will be on income in the form of an gifted estate.