Inheritance

An inheritance is property or money passed on when someone dies, distributed by their will or, absent one, by intestacy law. Two practical points dominate: assets with a named beneficiary (retirement accounts, life insurance) pass outside the will entirely and outrank whatever the will says, and inherited assets often receive a stepped-up cost basis, wiping out the deceased's unrealised capital gains. Inheritance tax rules vary enormously by country and, in the US, by state.