In its most basic terms, estate planning is primarily to reduce taxes and facilitate the passing of your assets to your family in a responsible fashion.  There are certain levels where State and Federal taxes take a bite.  You need to be aware of these tax levels so you can plan to reduce these taxes to maximize the amount of assets passing to your family or the organization of your choice.

The other aspects of estate planning are family specific, i.e., what are the children going to receive? Will a trust be established and at what age will the trust be disbursed?  What about stepchildren and ex-wives?  Is your ex-wife still in your will?