Estate planning is a field in flux. As the law stands today, the estate tax is being phased out over a ten year period. Whether that phase out will be allowed to stand is anybody's guess. Personally, if I had to guess, I would say that today's law will not stand. First of all, there is a irresistible propensity by politicians to change tax laws. Sooner or later the Democrats will be returned to power, and they will be looking for any convenient revenue source. Nothing is easier than raising government revenues by taxing the rich.

In the meantime, deductibles and tax rates change every year even without any new legislation. Estate planning has become more difficult because of the new law, and I suspect the IRS is happy because if people delay estate planning out of confusion, it increases the chance they will die with a taxable estate.

In light of this, I do not feel it is safe for people with substantial assets to assume that the estate tax is going to disappear. The articles below where written before the recent tax law changes. Some of these vehicles are useful even if there is no estate tax. Living trusts, for instance, are primarily for probate avoidance and are important no matter what the condition of the tax law. In addition, people with estates in excess of $3 to $5 million may want to engage in some planning just in case.