Thursday, October 30, 2025
10:15 AM
to
11:15 AM
Back to Event
Young Attorney/Paralegal Track
Presented by the Estates and Probate, Tax, and Business Law Sections
About the Program
Clients, advisors, and practitioners often focus on the planning and execution of transfers. However, without focusing on the gift tax return filing, that intended results may not come to fruition. This presentation will offer a deep dive into the technical aspects of federal gift tax returns with panelists offering different approaches on various decision points practitioners often encounter, including protecting oneself from liability by defining the scope of representation, deciding whether to report non-gift transactions, determining whether to make certain elections, and ensuring the filing meets the requirements of adequate disclosure. While the focus will be on federal gift tax reporting, there will also be coverage of Connecticut’s gift tax reporting requirements.
You Will Learn
- About determining filing obligations and understanding when a gift tax return is required and whether to file to report non-gift transfers
- How to review prior returns and transcripts and how to obtain and evaluate previously filed returns (or confirm their absence) to ensure continuity and compliance in reporting
- How to comply with adequate disclosure requirements and discover what constitutes “adequate disclosure” under the Treasury Regulations and recent judicial and administrative guidance
- How to define ethical and professional boundaries and explore ethical duties of competence, diligence, and scope of representation under the Model Rules and ACTEC Commentaries
- How to use engagement letters and internal processes to manage risk
- How to draft effective engagement letter provisions that define responsibility for return preparation, reliance on client data, and coordination with third parties
- How to coordinate effectively with accountants
- Best practices for information sharing, review procedures, and return approval when accountants are involved in the preparation process
- About elections and getting up to speed on what elections can be made on a gift tax return and the timing requirements
Who Should Attend
Estate planning attorneys interested in taking a comprehensive, practice-focused look at how to effectively, ethically, and correctly prepare IRS Form 709—from initial client intake through final filing.
Credit
CT: 1.0 CLE Credit (0.5 General; 0.5 Ethics)
NY: 1.0 CLE Credit (0.5 AOP; 0.5 Ethics)
1.0 Paralegal CE Credit (0.5 General; 0.5 Ethics)
The Connecticut Bar Association/CT Bar Institute is an accredited provider of New York State CLE. This program qualifies for newly admitted and experienced attorneys CLE credits.
Attorneys seeking NY CLE credit who have been admitted to the New York State Bar for two years or less must attend the live seminar for skills or ethics credit, a fully interactive videoconference, or simultaneous transmission with synchronous interactivity. Diversity, Inclusion and Elimination of Bias CLE credits are only available as non-transitional credits. For further information please see the NYCourts.gov page on CLE: http://ww2.nycourts.gov/attorneys/cle/index.shtml.