Estate and Gift Taxation

3 units

This course is a study of the federal wealth transfer tax system, including the estate tax, the gift tax, and (to a lesser extent) the generation-skipping transfer tax. The relationship between these three donative transfer taxes, and between the transfer taxes and the federal income tax, will be emphasized. The policy underpinnings of wealth transfer taxation, and the reasons for the recent erosion in its political support, will be explored. Fundamental principles and some common techniques of estate planning will be introduced. Students will work extensively with Subtitle B of the Internal Revenue Code and the regulations thereunder. The course will be taught from a casebook and a statutory pamphlet, predominately by the case method. Neither Trusts & Estates nor Federal Income Taxation is a prerequisite for this course, but while those courses are not essential, both provide helpful background information. Attendance and participation are required and sanctions will be imposed in cases of serious noncompliance. The course grade will be based predominately on a three-hour in-school open-book final examination which will consist predominately of essay questions, but there may be a short-answer question component as well. 3 units.