Tax Recognition

Authors

Barry Cushman, Notre Dame Law SchoolFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2014

Publication Information

58 St. Louis U. L. J. 825 (2014)

Abstract

This article was prepared for the St. Louis University Law Journal’s “Teaching Trusts & Estates” issue. Many law students take a course in Trusts & Estates, but comparatively few enroll in a class devoted to the federal wealth transfer taxes. For most law students, the Trusts & Estates course provides the only opportunity for exposure to some of the basic features of the estate tax, the gift tax, the generation-skipping transfer tax, and some related features of the income tax. The coverage demands of the typical Trusts & Estates course do not allow for intensive discussion of these issues, but there are numerous opportunities to introduce relevant tax considerations while teaching the substantive law of wills and trusts. Using the Dukeminier & Sitkoff casebook as an example, this article explores the opportunities for interstitial recognition of the tax issues often lying just beneath the surface of private law disputes. Seizing the opportunities that these cases present to introduce some basic tax concepts and planning strategies can alert students to simple methods of tax savings and help them to avoid costly potential estate planning errors.

Recommended Citation

Barry Cushman, Tax Recognition, 58 St. Louis U. L. J. 825 (2014).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/law_faculty_scholarship/1069