In the free market, a producer may also donate his or her property to chosen heirs at death. Wills, the instruments of such donations, are handled somewhat differently under our present legal system than in a free market. At present, it is presumed that a rational person will include all close family members among his or her heirs, and any departure from that presumption invites posthumous probate battles and may even disqualify the entire will. Consequently, legators are frequently advised by their attorneys to include substantial provisions for those family members, regardless of their personal wishes. In the free market, in contrast, a will is a literal expression of the property owner's "will," and not a vehicle to "family values" or other social goals promoted by the ruling authority. Furthermore, as we shall find in Section 5, a free market promotes cultural attitudes and ethical premises that vary significantly from those of our current society. Whereas great wealth is now often retained in certain families as a matter of social custom, there is reason to expect that in a free society producers would be more apt to practice the virtue of justice, as discussed in pp. 3.10:19-34, in dispensing their property.

Taxes imposed on inheritances have praxeological effects similar to those of other gift and income taxes. Insofar as these taxes can be foreseen by the producer during his or her lifetime, they discourage production and encourage premature consumption in lieu of capital investment. A gifted businesswoman is hardly likely to devote a lifetime to building a business if she expects it to be liquidated for estate taxes, rather than passed to her loved ones. The accounting costs of estate taxes are often exceptionally onerous and impose an economic loss with no compensating benefit.