A married couple with a joint estate which exceeds $2,000,000 in value must consider establishing a credit shelter trust (also called a "CRUT") either in their will or revocable living trust. While leaving your entire estate to your spouse outright might seem like a good idea, it will cause the surviving spouse's estate to contain all of the couple's assets for estate tax purposes. If the total of these assets exceeds $2,000,000 (including life insurance) there will likely be a federal and Connecticut estate tax. A CRUT (also called a "bypass" trust) will allow up to $2,000,000 of the couples estate to pass tax free to the next generation, while allowing the surviving spouse to enjoy those assets during her lifetime. The use of a bypass trust will allow a married couple to shelter up to $4,000,000.00 from the federal estate tax, and the Connecticut estate tax. Since the Credit Shelter amount is due to increase to $3,500,000 on January 1, 2009, married couples will be able to protect up to $7,000,000 from federal estate taxation.