Required Materials:

Casebook: Campfield, Dickenson & Turner ("CDT"), Taxation of Estates, Gifts and Trusts (newest edition), CCH pub. and either:

CCH Federal Estate and Gift Taxes: Code and Regs. (current ed.) or

Tax Analysts One-Disk (current)

Course Objective

This course is a graduate level introduction to how wealth is transferred between generations and how the US taxes such transfers. It covers the mechanics of transfers (wills, probate, joint tenancy, living trusts etc.), the taxation of transfers during life and at death, and the income taxation of transfer entities (trusts and estates.)

Computer-assisted learning is an integral part of this class. The notes for each lecture will be posted on the class web page at least one day in advance. I ask your assistance in maintaining and adding to this page. I encourage you to use CD-Rom based Code/ Regulations/Cases (Tax Analysts' OneDisk) rather than the CCH paper copy. I expect you to use spreadsheets for complex calculations, to discover and use on-line research sources, and to follow newsgroup discussions regarding taxes. Familiarity with these applications is an essential component of your future success.

Course Prerequisite

Completion of or co-enrollment in introductory Income Tax course.

Grade Requirements:

20% of the grade is based on your participation in class discussions. In particular, students will be assigned to prepare cases in the Campbell text at least one week in advance. Please be ready to briefly state the facts of the case, the procedural history, the issue, and the court's holding. You should also be ready to discuss and critique the reasoning of the court.

80% of the grade is based on written exercises. The weight given each depends on its length and complexity. The course is organized around four case studies. Students will prepare (individually or in groups):

• A field trip report
• A probate accounting, and tax form 1041
• Estate Tax Form 706
• Valuation exercise
• Gift tax Form 709
• Protest of an estate tax examination report.