What does the federal estate tax "exclusion amount" mean?

Does it mean that there is no tax whatsoever if a person dies with a net worth (bank accounts, house, land, etc) less than the exclusion amount (which would be $1 million in 2011, for example)?

Thanks!

For 2011 (not 2010) the federal wealth/estate tax is on the FMV of the assets plus any taxable gifts during the person's life. If the total is less than $1M, not tax.

If the assets make money (think interest and dividends) or are tax-deferred (think IRA), then the income tax must still be paid.