This article ("To Give or Not to Give, Up to $5.12 Million") from the New York Times discusses the estate tax planning opportunities available this year under the current $5.12 million federal gift tax exemption.  Under current law, the exemption is scheduled to return to $1 million on January 1, 2013.  The article summarizes nicely the considerations many families are weighing as they decide whether (or to what extent) they should take advantage of this opportunity, which the article describes as "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to avoid a big estate tax bill. 

A  recent post to our News and Insights page ("Estate Tax Planning in 2012 -- Spousal Limited Access Trusts") explained the use of spousal access trusts to receive the transferred assets, an approach discussed in the New York Times article.