InterActive Legal Academy
Estate Planning Tax Series
InterActive Legal Academy is education by lawyers for lawyers. The Estate Planning Tax Series offered in October is a practical introduction to tax issues relevant to estate planners and how to draft documents that can minimize overall taxation.
October 6–31, 2025
1:00–2:00 PM ET
Tues & Thurs: Live Online Instruction
Fri: Drafting Workshops Q&A
What You’ll Learn
- The fundamentals of estate, gift, and generation skipping transfer tax
- Income tax issues that estate planners can’t ignore
- When to use credit shelter trusts, disclaimer planning, and Clayton QTIPs
- The benefits of lifetime gifting through irrevocable trusts
- Tax issues with specific assets
- And more—reinforced with case studies, sample drafting language, and live Q&A
Seats are limited—don’t miss this opportunity to elevate your estate planning practice with actionable, tax-focused insights.
Course Syllabus
Week #1 – October 6-10
| Session Name | Faculty | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Optional Kick off Meeting (October 6, 2025; 1pm ET) | Teresa Bush | Administrative meeting in advance of the official program: • Check connections • Review Syllabus • Answer any questions |
| Estate and Gift Tax Basics (October 7, 2025; 1pm ET) | Michael Graham and Teresa Bush | The basics of estate and gift taxation: • What is taxed and how taxes are calculated • Estate and gift tax exemptions • Marital and charitable deductions. |
| Estate Tax Exemptions and “A/B” Planning (October 9, 2025; 1pm ET) | Vanessa Kanaga and Beth Boehmcke | Using the estate tax exemption: • Bypass trust planning • Exemption portability • Wasting the exemption • Marital deduction gifts |
| Week 1 Workshop (October 10, 2025; 1pm ET) | Academy Faculty | Week 1 concept review: • Case studies and sample language • Q&A |
Week #2 – October 13-17
| Session Name | Faculty | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Flexible Estate Tax Planning (October 14, 2025; 1pm ET) | Teresa Bush and Rebecca Strub | Wait-and-see estate tax exemption planning: • Disclaimer plans • Clayton QTIP trusts • State estate taxation |
| Designing Trusts for Tax and Other Purposes (October 16, 2025; 1pm ET) | TBD | Trust provisions and their tax impact: • Using different types of trusts – why and how • Specific trust provisions and what they do |
| Week 2 Workshop (October 17, 2025; 1pm ET) | Academy Faculty | Week 2 concept review: • Case studies and sample language • Q&A |
Week #3 – October 20-24
| Session Name | Faculty | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Specific Assets that Impact Estate Planning (October 21, 2025; 1pm ET) | Letha McDowell and Deirdre Wheatley-Liss | Tax issues when planning for specific assets: • Personal effects and real estate • Life insurance • Family businesses • Retirement accounts |
| Lifetime Planning and Gifting Using Trusts (October 23, 2025; 1pm ET) | Vanessa Kanaga and Jonathan Blattmachr | Irrevocable trust planning: • How lifetime gifting saves overall taxation • Non-tax reasons for lifetime gifting • Gift taxation when creating trusts |
| Week 3 Workshop (October 24, 2025; 1pm ET) | Academy Faculty | Week 3 concept review: • Case studies and sample language • Q&A |
Week #4 – October 27-31
| Session Name | Faculty | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Income Tax and the Estate Plan (October 28, 2025; 1pm ET) | Letha McDowell and Deirdre Wheatley-Liss | Income tax issues for estate planners: • Trust income taxation – who pays? • Grantor trusts • Carry-over basis vs. step-up in basis |
| GST Tax Planning (October 30, 2025; 1pm ET) | Teresa Bush | Introducing the Generation Skipping Transfer Tax: • Triggering and calculating the GST tax • Utilizing the GST exemption • Reverse QTIP trusts |
| Week 4 Workshop (October 31, 2025; 1pm ET) | Academy Faculty | Week 4 concept review: • Case studies and sample language • Q&A |
Faculty
Learn directly from respected practitioners and thought leaders in estate planning.
Jonathan G. Blattmachr, JD
Editor in Chief and Co-Founder
InterActive Legal
Teresa L. Bush, Esq.
Director of Education and Support Services
InterActive Legal
Elizabeth (Beth) Q. Boehmcke, Esq.
Advisor Emeritus
InterActive Legal
Michael L. Graham, Esq.
Chairman and Co-Founder
InterActive Legal
Vanessa L. Kanaga, Esq.
InterActive Legal Advisor
Letha Sgritta McDowell, CELA
InterActive Legal Advisor
Rebecca Strub, JD, LL.M.
Legal Content Manager
InterActive Legal
Deirdre Wheatley-Liss, Esq.
InterActive Legal Advisor
Tuition
Non-Subscriber: $699*
Subscriber: $399
Special Pricing for Law Students (proof required)
2-Hour Lifestyle Lawyer, Elder Law College, Million Dollar Solution, and Personal Family Lawyer members receive a tuition discount.
Contact your organization for details.
*Non-subscribers who attend may apply a tuition credit toward a new InterActive Legal subscription
(if purchased within 60 days of the series end).
*CLE Approved
The Estate Planning Tax Series is approved for 12 hours of Florida CLE credit.
Certificates of attendance are provided.
Attendees outside Florida may apply for credit with their own state bar.
CLE credit may be available only for sessions attended live.
Want to Learn More about InterActive Legal Academy?
| Our faculty and support staff will be happy to help you with inquiries, registration, information on future sessions, and questions about the material presented in the most recent sessions. Email [email protected] Support Hours are 8:30am – 5:30pm ET Monday through Friday, except holidays |
