Federal Taxes on Gratuitous Transfers: Law and Planning

Abstract

This book deals with the federal income tax as it bears on gratuitous transfers and with the federal wealth transfer taxes. The federal wealth transfer taxes presently consist of a partially unified estate and gift tax and a generation-skipping tax. The federal transfer tax system is separate and apart from the federal income tax.

Features of the book include: (1) emphasis on text, statutes, and regulations, rather than cases (especially cases that involve routine application of law to facts); (2) “building block” organization (simple to complex estates), rather than segmented organization according to Code sections. (3) extensive use of questions and problems to aid students. The book reconstitutes the Estate and Gift tax course from the ground up in light of modern estates practice. For example, special valuation rules are treated as basic, as opposed to being just “tacked on” as other books treat them. The book emphasizes valuation and use of FLPs. Concepts of valuation are introduced early on and integrated with other material. The authors integrate related income tax materials, including income taxation of estates and trusts. The authors relate tax doctrine to tax planning strategies, focus on doctrine that influences the practice of estate and trust law, rather than doctrine for its own sake, and make reference to state law (including recent developments) as it bears on transfer tax issues, with full coverage of issues raised by community property systems.

Keywords: estate, gift, tax, legal education, estate planning

JEL Classification: K34, K39