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While the federal estate tax law expired on New Year's Eve, its death is hardly permanent. If Congress doesn't pass a new bill, the tax will come roaring back to life on January 1, 2011. The $3.5 million exemption will be reduced to just $1 million and the tax rate will increase from 45 to 55 percent.

In anticipation of this bigger tax bite, attorney Warren Racusin of Lowenstein Sandler PC says it is now time to make some strategic money moves.

"There are a lot of ways to get property out of your estate, particularly in a year like this, so that if and when the estate tax does come back, there won't be an estate tax on them when you pass away," says Racusin.

He suggests that wealthy individuals should gift as much as possible under the annual exemption.

"If you have children, grandchildren, you can give $13,000 a year of cash or other assets to each one -- children, grandchildren, anyone in the Manhattan telephone book if you want to," says Racusin. "And a couple can give $26,000 a year."

Another way to move money out of one's estate is to prepay for college tuition. There is no limit on the amount you can gift, but the payment has to be made directly to the institution. The same is true for future medical expenses.

"For example, if you have a child or a family member who has major medical expenses or health expenses that are excessive, you can pay that directly to the hospital, to the doctor and that will be unlimited," says certified public accountant Alan Kahn of AJK Financial Group.

Kahn says another strategy is make advance contributions to a Section 529 Plan, which allows people to set aside $13,000 a year into a college savings plan.

"You can pre-load the account for five years, so that's $65,000 in one year," says Kahn. "Between a grandma and a grandpa, or a husband and a wife, that's $130,000."

That money will earn interest over the years and will not be taxed at 55 percent, should the decedent pass on in 2011.

Experts say while there is no deadline for making these types of moves, it is important to sit down with an estate planner sooner rather than later. Congress is expected to pass a new estate tax law in the coming months and that law could bring other changes.

"It is possible that at the same time they may try to eliminate some of these tax planning techniques and ideas that we have been using," says Racusin. "So if you are going to use it, it makes sense to do it now while we know that these techniques are still available."