The issues of what assets are subject to the will and whether the government will assess estate taxes are totally different issues. First, only large estates are subject to estate taxes. Presently, estates have to be valued over $1 million for the state of Minnesota to assess an estate tax. Second, the government will include in the estate tax calculation all assets you owned, regardless of whether those assets are governed by the will or not. Life insurance, IRAs and other assets that are not governed by the will and are not “probate” assets will still be included in the tax calculation.