That's absolutely NOT true. Locally...we have Bill Gates (and his dingbat father who PROMOTES the Estate Tax).
The tools are well known from all the public discourse.
What's not true? The future IS uncertain.
As I said before, the traditional advice is to give all of your money away over time for a couple of reasons. (1) Gifts are tax exclusive and (2) the annual allowance.
However, because of the estate tax uncertainty, how does this now work in practice? Client A is wealthy and gives $10,000,000 of his money to a trust with his son as a beneficiary. He pays gift tax on the gift to the trust and after all is said and done, the trust winds up with $6.5 million, say.
Client B also has $10 million and wants to give it to his son. Client B does not form a trust and dies in 2010, when the estate tax is scheduled to be zero. Estate has no tax and the full $10 million passes to son.
Client C has $10 million. Does not form a trust, but dies in 2011. The estate tax is scheduled to revert to full scheduled in 2011, so client is taxed 55% and, adjusting for the unified credit, son winds up with $5 million.
But, of course, the President is pushing for a full repeal of the estate tax. So how do you plan when you don't know what the future will bring? It's been traditionally better to give, so what if you give your $10 million to your son--pay the gift tax--and then the next year, Congress permanently repeals the estate tax? You just cost your son a lot of money.
So tell me, Paulat, if the tools are well known, how do you plan? Tell me how to read the tea leaves. I'm curious.