A Time for Giving

April 13, 2009, The Wall Street Journal — It may be tough expanding your wealth in an economy that is teetering, but giving it away to heirs is getting a whole lot easier, thanks to rock-bottom interest rates.

Some estate-planning professionals are urging clients to take advantage of the situation by setting up grantor-retained annuity trusts, vehicles designed to minimize or eliminate gift taxes on wealth transferred out of an investor's estate during his or her lifetime.