Around the Water Cooler this morning, we look at decanting (of trusts, not wine), a fascinating story of business succession done well from Canada, the 100th anniversary of the estate tax and September interest rates.

Finally . . . September interest rates.  The current § 7520 rate for use with estate planning techniques such as GRAT’s, CRT’s, CLT’s, and QPRT’s is 1.4%. The applicable federal rate (“AFR”) for use with an intra-family loan having a duration of 3 – 9 years, a sale to a defective grantor trust,  or a self-canceling installment note (“SCIN”) is 1.22%.

The low § 7520 and applicable federal rates continue to present planning opportunities with GRAT’s, sales to defective grantor trusts, SCIN’s and intra-family loans with depressed assets that are expected to perform better in future years.