[swang720]

Do you have any evidence to back this up?

[ihsw]

As other's have noted it can be bypassed through providing assets to children before death.

[d2vid]

It's not THAT easy. Gifts are taxable: http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Em...

So are trust fund transfers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation-skipping_transfer_ta...

[danielweber]

At anything like a 50% estate tax, a 20-millionaire can just hire a bunch of family members at $100,000 a year and lose less in income and payroll taxes.

It's not 100% trivial, but there is an entire industry devoted to helping people with this. That industry really shouldn't exist.