[Spunky]

"It’s a common estate-planning technique in my parents’ home state of Kansas. Inheritance from parent to child is not taxed as heavily (or at all, I forget), so my father’s childless aunt and uncle adopted eleven of their adult nieces and nephews so that their estate could be simply split in 11 shares and passed down to them without going through probate.

There are no Federal Taxes on Inheritance up to two million dollars. It does not matter who you give it to if they are named in the Will. They do not have to be children. Also if there is a Will it does not have to go through probate.

I know this as my father recently passed away and 1/4 of his estate was willed to his care taker who was not related. Some States may require you to pay some taxes (not sure at what amount) but not all states.

[mvpel]

It had something to do with the Kansas tax & probate system, I’m not sure exactly what.

[mvpel]

Having a quick look through the Kansas Probate Code, the adoption of the eleven cousins might be related to the Kansas Simplified Estates Act, which is Article 32.