TaxProf Highlights New Estate and Gift Tax Book by Profs. Danforth and Hellwig

As noted on the well-known law blog TaxProf, Washington and Lee professors Robert Danforth and Brant Hellwig have published a new edition of Estate and Gift Taxation (LexisNexis). From the blog:

This edition of Estate and Gift Taxation transitions from the temporary estate and gift tax regime that prevailed for the last decade by incorporating the provisions of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 that places the federal wealth transfer tax regime on a permanent footing. In addition to noting these fundamental legislative changes, the book devotes additional coverage to a number of recent estate and gift taxation hot topics, including:

• Defined value transfers and the increasing acceptance of this technique by courts;
• Portability of the unified credit from a predeceasing spouse to a surviving spouse;
• Availability of the gift tax annual exclusion for transfers of restricted beneficial interests in closely held entities; and
• Recent cases examining challenges to the use of family limited partnerships as estate planning vehicles.

Like the first edition of Estate and Gift Taxation published in 2011, the second edition consists of discrete chapters addressing the estate and gift tax regime in a context specific manner (i.e., jointly held property; life insurance; powers of appointment; retained-interest transfers, etc.). Each chapter contains a narrative explanation of the material, with important cases typically summarized rather than reproduced in full. Each chapter closes with a problem set requiring students to apply the relevant doctrine in the context of realistic hypothetical examples. A common technique in the problems is to present students sample trust language and then to ask students to identify tax pitfalls and to suggest drafting solutions around them. The authors provide their suggested answers to the problems in the comprehensive Teacher’s Manual for the second edition, which also will be available in July.

This book is part of the Graduate Tax Series, the first and only series of course materials designed for use in tax LL.M. programs. Like all books in the Series, Estate and Gift Taxation was designed from the ground-up with the needs of graduate tax faculty and students in mind.

You can read more about the Graduate Tax Series at TaxProf.

W&L Law Faculty Present at SEALS

Several Washington and Lee Law School faculty members presented last week at the annual meeting of the Southeastern Association of Law Schools (SEALS). In addition, David Millon, J. B. Stombock Professor of Law at Washington and Lee University School of Law, took the helm as President of SEALS for the 2012-13 term.

In addition to his duties with the organization during the conference, Millon also served as a panelist in a session on how recent Supreme Court decisions and congressional legislation are affecting business and regulatory issues and in a discussion group focused on teaching business law in a new economic environment. Other presentations by W&L faculty included:

• Johanna Bond, who participated in a discussion group on contemporary issues in gender and the law.
• Christopher Bruner, who presented a paper during a panel on recent developments in corporate governance.
• Mark Drumbl, who participated in a discussion group on the growing importance of international matters to legal education.
• Jill Fraley, who presented her research on maps as legal arguments in a new scholars panel.
• Brant Hellwig, who participated in a discussion group on tax reform in 2012.
• John Keyser and Todd Peppers, who participated in a panel on social science and the law.
• J.D. King, who participated in a panel on implicit racial bias in the criminal justice system.
• Joan Shaughnessy, who served as a moderator of a new scholars panel.
• Robin Wilson, who participated in a panel on cutting edge issues in family law.