Gift and Estate Tax in Practice (Grossman/Kamens)
Additional Information
Experiential CourseYes
Skills Training
Oral Presentations
Team Projects
Drafting Legal Documents
Other Professional Skills: In a short amount of time after the completion of this class, most, if not all, of the students will be engaged in the practice of law -- either as first year lawyers in a law firm, or as a summer associate, a year away from full time practice. This course, using the factual and estate planning models, is intended to expose students to practicalities likely to be encountered in and equip each with some fundamental tools not otherwise available in law school.
Grading
10% Participation,
90% Other (1. Written Assignments:
a) Estate planning memoranda (three) 20%
b) Drafting: tax returns, planning documents (two) 10%
2. Simulation exercises and preparation and presentations:
a) Simulation exercises (six) 40%
b) Preparation and presentations (three) 20%
3. Class participation: 10%
)
No
Class meets in person.
Meeting Times/Location
T 4:30PM - 6:20PM
Silverman Hall 240A
Category
Upper-Level
Credits
2.0
Harry Bloom is a successful, second generation entrepreneur and, with his wife, Joan, the parents of three adult children; they have four grandchildren. The family business is growing, Joan is involved in important charitable work, they are enjoying spending time in their new winter home in Florida, and a bit unsure who succeeds Harry in running the business. The Blooms need help in their estate planning. They have come to the students in this immersive, interactive class for advice on the many issues they are likely to face (and some of which they may be unaware!). Cloaked in the subject matter of estate and gift tax planning, the Blooms’ new lawyers will experience the real life practice of law, utilizing in-class simulations, client interactions, factual analysis and drafting.
Through practical and actual examples derived from a combined nearly 65 years of sophisticated Estate Planning, coverage of this course will be over three principal areas: (1) the fundamental tools used in estate and gift tax planning - the statutory and legal framework, and the documents (including Wills, Trusts, tax returns) employed in implementation; (2) how the breadth of “non-tax concepts” plays into estate and gift tax planning in practice. We will see how one’s planning necessarily brings into focus aspects of business law (corporate financing, employment matters, business control issues, litigation, bankruptcy and more) and other issues such as: protection of assets from creditors and divorcing spouses; issues associated with owning, managing and valuing one’s assets; use of investment advisors; use of life insurance; and issues associated with philanthropic giving; and (3) use of those fundamental tools and non-tax concepts in the integration of a complex planning model for the Bloom family and gauging results of such planning, including estate administration issues.
There is no expectation that students will come to this class with a particular expertise, other than an interest in previewing a real life legal practice experience; it will be helpful, but not required, to have some basic federal income tax knowledge. Students will be clearly guided in their assignments. Preparation will be required for each class and will, at different times, include: (i) readings; (ii) drafting (a) client and intra-office memoranda, (b) one brief research memorandum and (c) other documents (or portions thereof) needed by the clients; and (iii) preparation for simulated client meetings and interactions. A principal goal over the course of the semester is to have students know and become engaged with the Bloom family, and accomplishing that goal by applying evolving facts to the practical needs of the family and providing the kind of advice the clients will expect from their lawyers. This is the course “we wish we had available in law school,” and will be a helpful transition to the full time practice of law.
Students will be assessed on their writings, work product in simulation exercises and the like and on the effort and progress shown in advancing from the academic to legal practice. The following are specifics, which are subject to some changes as the semester evolves:
1. Written Assignments: a) Estate planning memoranda (three) 20% b) Drafting: tax returns, planning documents (two) 10% 2. Simulation exercises and preparation and presentations: a) Simulation exercises (six) 40% b) Preparation and presentations (three) 20% 3. Class participation: 10%
Business and Corporate Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of business and corporate law; Perform legal analysis in the context of business and corporate law; Communicate effectively on topics related to business and corporate law; Demonstrate an understanding of the interconnection between the world of business and finance and that of business and corporate law, and how they affect other areas of law and society.
Skills Learning outcomes: Demonstrate an understanding of the individual course skill; Demonstrate the ability to receive and implement feedback; Demonstrate an understanding of how and when the individual course skill is employed in practice.
Tax Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of tax law and policy; Perform legal analysis in the context of tax law and policy; Communicate effectively on topics related to tax law and policy; Demonstrate an understanding of how tax law and policy affect other areas of law and business.
Professional Responsibility and Ethics Learning outcomes: Demonstrate an understanding of how the law affects, and is affected by, the individual course topic; Perform legal analysis in the context of the individual course topic; Communicate effectively on the legal and other aspects of the individual course topic; Demonstrate the ability to use other disciplines to analyze legal issues relevant to the individual course topic, including economics, philosophy, and sociology, as appropriate.