For your information below is the Unified Estate Tax Rate Schedule, and the list of Estate Tax Exemptions and the Generation Skipping Tax Exemptions.
Presently estates are exempt from Estate Taxes. However, in 2011 the Tax Rate is scheduled to return to the 1,000,000.00 exemption level then the estate will be taxed 55% of value over the 1,000,000.00 exemption cut off. You will pay 55 cents on every dollar of estate value over the exemption, or put plainly, you keep no more than forty-five cents on each dollar of the decedent's estate after the first One Million Dollars.
The federal estate tax is an excise tax imposed on the transfer of property from a decedent and is based on the net sum of the decedent's estate, that is the gross estate value less allowable deductions. The Federal Estate Tax return when required must be filed within nine months of the decedent's death or an extension requested to avoid a serious penalty of five (5%) percent per month.

Estate Exemption Per Person and Estate Tax

Calendar Year	Exemption	GST Exemption	Estate Tax
2001 (old law)	$650,000.00	$1,060,000.00	55%
2002	$1,000,000.00	$1,100,000.00	50%
2003	$1,000,000.00	$1,120,000.00	49%
2004	$1,500,000.00	$1,500,000.00	48%
2005	$1,500,000.00	$1,500,000.00	47%
2006	$2,000,000.00	$2,000,000.00	46%
2007	$2,000,000.00	$2,000,000.00	45%
2008	$2,000,000.00	$2,000,000.00	45%
2009	$3,500,000.00	$3,500,000.00	45%
2010	Estate Tax Repealed	No Death Tax	Estate Tax Repealed
2011 old law reinstated	$1,000,000.00	$1,120,000.00	55%