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No it doesn't! Death duties are what we now know as inheritance tax (or capital transfer tax). This has been payable in one form or another for several hundred years. There was duty payable both on the court seal and on the value of the estate. Because it was in the "List of Wills", that's a clue!! (Lol, sorry I'm not being sarcastic!), but the definitive thing for me is that there is an executor. You can ONLY have an executor appointed by a Will - otherwise its an admin with an administrator (but an admin CAN have a Will, but would be an admin if the named executor has died). Confused yet?! lol, I am. (However, thankfully, I do this for a living and there have been few changes to the law in several hundred years).