Between 2008 and 2020, the inflation rate never rose higher than 3%. During that timeframe, clients were able to take advantage of estate planning strategies that utilized low-interest rates, such as grantor retained annuity trusts, sales to intentionally defective grantor trusts, and intra-family loans. Let's explore how effective these strategies remain with today's higher interest rates and whether it's time to reconsider strategies that have not been prominently used for over a decade.

Keep in mind that, although the Federal Gift and Estate Tax basic exclusion amount is $12,920,000 per individual for 2023 and increases each year to adjust for inflation, the basic exclusion amount is scheduled to decrease by 50% in 2026 unless the law is otherwise changed.