Curriculum Guide · Courses

Professors Edward Beckwith and A. Christopher Sega

LL.M Course 833 (cross-listed) | 2 credit hours

This course is an overview of the federal estate and gift tax. Beginning with the gift tax, topics covered will include what constitutes a taxable gift, what types of property transfers are not gifts, and when a gift is treated as complete for Federal gift tax purposes. Students will explore both outright gifts and gifts in trust. The course will then turn to the estate tax, including what assets are included in a decedent's estate by virtue of "strings" the decedent retained on gifts made during lifetime. The gift and estate tax marital and charitable deductions will be covered, as well as the various gift and estate tax techniques often employed to reduce the tax on lifetime gifts and testamentary bequests. The matters covered in class are illustrated by examples drawn from current estate planning practice, recent cases and Internal Revenue Service rulings. Students will be evaluated based on a two-hour multiple-choice final exam.

Prerequisite: Tax I and Decedents' Estates or equivalent. This course is taught at an advanced level, and it is strongly recommended that students have completed Income Taxation of Trusts, Estates, and Beneficiaries and a J.D. course in Estate and Gift Tax, or possess equivalent practice experience.

JD students: THIS COURSE REQUIRES PROFESSOR PERMISSION TO ENROLL. Please contact Ellis Duncan via email at ged5@law.georgetown.edu no later than Friday, June 7th, for permission to take this class.