Will I have to pay an inheritance tax on the money my mother left me in her will. It's under a million dollars.

“For deaths occurring in 2011, up to $5,000,000 can be passed from an individual upon his or her death without incurring federal estate tax.” Source

Things were more complicated in 2010. The lawyer who is handling your mother’s estate should be able to take you through all the details.

There may be other issues, such as step-up capital gains taxes, Fed. and state income taxes and crap you never heard of.

We are in the middle of settling my mother’s estate and there are constantly small surprises. Her lawyers are in NY and she lived in MA. so the NY lawyers have to hire MA lawyers to interpret the MA laws. My father, who died in 1980, left three generation-skipping trusts that are also very complicated to unbraid, all of them in different ways.

The lawyers are very happy, however.

And I have a new and long vocabulary list of legal terms.

My aunt and uncle paid the taxes on their estate, as specified. So I did not pay.

I am not a lawyer…
No, you will not have to pay inheritance tax. Value any stock she had at the time of death – not when she bought it.
My dad died 10 + years ago. Before he died he made me executor and gave me power of attorney. He made a clear simple will with clear and simple instructions. Two things he sad were “I don’t owe anybody anything except for current bills.” and “Don’t pay a dime for a lawyer. Everything is straight.”
I gave everyone copies of all the accounts and stock he listed, attached a copy of the will, and made a spreadsheet showing the math. There were no arguments.
I had copies of the death certificates and sent them to any the companies where he owned stock and had new certificates made in others names. “Probate” was just waiting. Nobody was in a rush. It was all transparent. There was no arguing and no fighting. And I didn’t pay a dime to a lawyer.
Thanks Dad!

They want your money and will get it by any means available, legal or not!