Changes in estate and inheritance taxes at the state level will make it better -- or worse -- for families in the year ahead.

As of Jan. 1, the federal estate tax exemption was indexed for the first time, so that for 2012, up to $5.12 million of an estate will be exempt from the current 35% federal estate tax. That's up from $5 million in 2011, meaning an individual could have left $120,000 more tax-free if he'd died on Jan. 1, 2012, instead of on Dec. 31, 2011.

Meanwhile, separate state levies are still a big concern for families. And there are changes for 2012 on the state levies on dying -- for better and for worse.

Washington, D.C., and 22 states impose estate and/or inheritance taxes. States with estate taxes typically exempt $1 million or less per estate from their tax and impose a top rate of 16%. Six states levy only an inheritance tax, with the rate depending on the relationship of the heir to the deceased and the taxes kicking in, in some cases, on the first dollar of bequest.

Two states, Maryland and New Jersey, impose both. Maryland, for example, imposes an estate tax of up to 16% above a $1 million exemption and a 10% inheritance tax on every dollar left to a niece, nephew, friend or partner, but no inheritance tax on money left to children, grandchildren, parents or siblings. (Any estate tax owed is reduced by the inheritance tax paid.) As in the federal system, bequests to a spouse are tax-free