Marital exemption is the exemption allowed by the IRS for the estate of a deceased spouse to pass to the surviving spouse without penalty of taxes. This allows the surviving spouse to avoid the Federal estate tax until their own death. The marital exemption law is particularly useful for people with large estates who want to avoid placing undue burden on their spouse or beneficiaries. Ultimately, the surviving spouse's estate will pay the estate taxes when that spouse dies. The marital exemption was created to prevent financial burden from being placed on the surviving spouse but has in effect become a method by which large estates pass from on family member to the other without paying taxes.