The decision whether to create a trust for the surviving spouse in order to minimize federal estate tax can be a difficult one, but in most cases the decision can be deferred until after a death has occurred, because the creation of the trust can be dependent on a “qualified disclaimer” by surviving spouse. This allows tax planning to be done “post mortem, but only if the will or revocable trust has been drafted to include “disclaimer trust” provisions, so that a disclaimer by the surviving spouse results in a trust for the surviving spouse.