Law Commons^™

Tax Recognition, Barry Cushman

Journal Articles

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 …

The Psychological Autopsy In Judicial Opinions Under Section 2035, Thomas L. Shaffer

Journal Articles

It is surprising how many cases have been litigated under Section 2035 of the Internal Revenue Code, which imposes an estate tax on inter vivos gifts in contemplation of death. It is also surprising that those hundreds of judicial opinions embody rigid perceptions of human life, and of attitudes toward death-perceptions which range from incisive to naive. They disclose a judicial system of death psychology which is detailed, systematic and (sometimes) accurate. This is an inquiry into those opinions as psychological autopsies.

The traditional judicial view of a gift in a contemplation of death case implies that the dead man …