Let $A \to B$ be a surjective homomorphism between (unital) noetherian commutative rings with the same Krull dimension. Is the kernel of this map nilpotent ?
Thanks to Makoto Kato and Martin Brandenburg, it seems that the answer to the question is trivially false.
Now assume $A$ is a quotient formal power serie rings over a DVR, say $\mathbb{Z}_p$ the ring of $p$-adic integers. Can we say something ?
Let $A$ be an Artinian ring which is not a local ring. Let $M$ be one of its maximal ideals. dim $A$ = dim $A/M = 0$. But $M$ is not nilpotent.