General Course Descriptions for Terms: tax
734 - Trusts & Estates I
"TNE" is a survey course on the legal and real-world aspects of transmission of property, usually at death. It covers such topics as intestate succession (dying without a will), wills, trusts and will substitutes, limitations on the disposition of assets and the impact of the Marital Property Act, powers of attorney and end-of-life decision making, and basic issues in the taxation of gifts and transfers at death. In addition to legal fundamentals, the course has a strong focus on legal practice–i.e., on how the law plays out on the ground.
742 - Taxation I
This course serves as an introduction to the current federal income tax system as it applies to domestic (i.e. US) individuals and entities. It is not an accounting course and does not focus on tax calculations. Rather, it covers the federal income tax issues that lawyers of all specialties use in (a) advising clients as to planning and implementing common types of transactions with financial implications , (b) assisting clients in structuring and resolving disputes with other parties where those disputes will or might have financial consequences for the client and (c) working with clients with regard to handling disagreements the clients are having with the Internal Revenue Service
771 - Sel. Topics Estate Planning: Financial Planning & Asset Management
This is a class about asset management. We will discuss the history of the stock, bond, real estate, and commodities markets in detail. We will pull back the veil on alternative investments and learn how hedge funds work. We will discuss the costs and benefits of private equity, venture capital, and angel investing. Long before Thanksgiving break, you will be able to dazzle friends and family with your knowledge of Modern Portfolio Theory and the relative merits of active versus passive investing. Second, this is a class about financial planning. Attorneys often become their clients’ single most trusted - and only unbiased - source of answers about their finances. You need to understand debt, insurance, retirement plans, mutual funds, annuities, and taxes so that you can help your clients make decisions that are entirely in their own best interest. What’s the difference between a Roth IRA and a SPIA? How do I figure out what kind of life insurance to buy? How are capital gains taxed in a GST? By Thanksgiving, you will know. Third, this is a class about money. Yes, money… ducats, scratch, lucre, macks, bills, bones, bread, bucks, chips, clams, coin, dough, frogskins, greenbacks, gold, gravy, loot, lucre, milk, moola, pesos, roll, salary, silver, shillings, shrapnel, treasure, wad, wage, wealth, wherewithal… Call it what you will, but we’re going to talk about it. In the financial world: Who makes what? How did they make it? How is it taxed? And did they earn it? If you find this repulsive, we apologize in advance. But wait until you start the optional readings on Wall Street culture from Tom Wolfe and Michael Lewis to be really appalled. To understand the motivations of market players, you need to understand how investment managers and financial advisors are compensated. Period. (Incidentally, this is NOT an area of particular interest to us. It’s just so “in your face” in the financial world that it’s impossible to ignore.)
772 - Use of Trusts in Estate Planning
This course studies the use of Trusts from the perspective of both the drafting attorney and the Trustee who administers a Trust. We will analyze hypothetical estate planning situations, explore issues that frequently arise in the administration of Trusts, and discuss drafting solutions to address such issues. We will also study the role of a Trustee as a fiduciary and conflicts attorneys may face when representing settlors, fiduciaries and beneficiaries. Limit: 18 students; T&E I required. Learning Outcomes – By the end of this course, students should: 1. Understand the purposes, advantages and disadvantages of basic Trusts in estate planning. 2. Possess a general understanding of how income, estate and gift tax impact Trust drafting. 3. Understand how Trusts interact with other estate planning documents. 4. Understand the duties and powers of a Trustee. 5. Identify and analyze ambiguities in Trust language. 6. Identify how to modify or terminate a Trust.
840 - Taxation II
868 - State & Local Taxation
870 - International Tax
940 - Race, Racism, and the Law
Topics covered in Race, Racism & the Law are: -What is Race? Race the Power of an Illusion; Notes on the State of Virginia; Dred Scott v. Sanford. -Not Just Black People: Racism with Native, Chinese, Japanese and Mexicans Johnson & Graham’s Lessee v. McIntosh; Cherokee Nation v. Georgia. -Worcester v. Georgia; Indian Citizenship Act of 1924; ;Tee-Hit-Ton v. United States; Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe; The “Chinese” Problem – People v. Hall; Japanese – Korematsu v. United States; Mexicans – Campaign of Terror, “Zoot Suit Riots”; Tennessee v. Garner; Graham v. Connor; Qualified Immunity: Estate of Smart by Smart v. City of Wichita,. -Black Lives Matter Protest: A Legal Review of Deadly Force; Estate of Harmon v. Salt Lake City. -Qualified Immunity. Review the 13th Amendment; Kalief Browder, Netflix; Meek Mills, Netflix) -Racism and the Criminal Justice System. War on Drugs: Federal Drug Laws and the Impact on Minority Communities; Brief Overview of Certain Aspects of the Criminal Justice System; Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System; Operation Pipeline; Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Program; Military Cooperation with Law Enforcement Act; Reagan’s National Security Decision Directive; 4th Amendment Rules; Florida v. Bostick; Ohio v. Robinette: Subjective and Reasonableness; Mandatory Minimums: the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986; Kimbrough v. United States; Harmelin v. Michigan. -Eighth Amendment—Excessive Bail; Wis. Stat. 969.01(1) and (4); Kalief Browder: Pre-Trial Detention; Prosecutorial Discretion: The Case of William Arnold Jr.; Probation and Parole: Discussion of Meek Mills: Probation and The Courts; Truth in Sentencing: Wis. Act 283; Review Shelly v. Kraemer, Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co. -Voting Rights and The Battle for Democratic Voice; Selma: The Bridge to the Ballot; Democratic National Committee v. Wisconsin Republican Legislature; Merrill v. People First of Alabama; Republican Party of Pennsylvania v. Kathy Boockvar, Secretary of Pennsylvania; 15th Amendment; 19th Amendment; Reconstruction Act of 1867; Radical Reconstruction 1867 to 1877; Post Reconstruction Efforts to Limit Voting; Guinn v. United States; 1965 Alabama Literacy Test; Poll Tax: Breedlove v. Suttles; Harper v. Virginia Board of Election, Gomillion v. Lightfoot; Voting Rights Act of 1965; Gatson County v. United States; Shelby County Alabama v. Holder. -Voting Rights Continued: Gerrymandering and Felony Disenfranchisement. Florida Question: Does requiring individuals to pay off all remaining fees before being considered a rehabilitated felon a modern day poll tax? Gerrymandering: Vieth v. Jubelier; Gill v. Whitford; Both Democratic and Republican led states have abused their power. -Immigration: United States v. Wong Kim Ark; Graham v. Department of Pub. Welfare; Plyler v. Doe; INS v. Lopez-Mendoza; Hamdan v. Rumsfeld; Padilla v. Kentucky; Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of University of California. Evicted by Matthew Desmond; The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein -Racism in Housing: From Restrictive Covenants to Renting; 14th Amendment Plessy v. Ferguson; National Housing Act of 1934; The Color of Law, Richard Rothstein; What is De Jure Racial Segregation? Buchanan v. Warley; Shelly v. Kramer; Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co; Fair Housing Act of 1968; Limiting of Damages by the Court. -Racism in Schools: The Struggle for Equal Education; Cumming v. Richard County Board of Education; Meyer v. Nebraska; Brown v. Board of Education; Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1; Miranda in Schools.
950 - Business,Tax & Compliance Colloquium
957 - Intro to Estate Planning
Issues related to estate planning; including function of the lawyer, ethical issues, estates not subject to tax, basic elements of tax-oriented planning, living trusts, health care issues, gift strategies.