Federal Taxation of Wealth Transfers: Cases and Problems, Fifth Edition

Stephanie J. Willbanks is a Professor of Law at Vermont Law School. She is an expert in federal transfer taxation as well as wills and trusts. The courses she has taught at Vermont Law School include Business Taxation, Estate and Gift Taxation, Estate Planning, Estates, Income Taxation, Tax Policy, and Torts.

Professor Willbanks received her B.A. degree, magna cum laude, in 1972 and her J.D. degree, magna cum laude, in 1978, both from the University of Minnesota. After graduation from law school, she clerked for the Honorable Rosalie E. Wahl of the Minnesota Supreme Court. She then practiced law for two years with the firm Henson Efron PA in Minneapolis before joining the Vermont Law School faculty in 1981. In 1986, she became the first female faculty member to receive tenure at Vermont Law School.

She served as associate dean for academic affairs from 1989 to 1994, from 1997 to 2002, and as vice dean for academic affairs from 2005 to 2009. She has also served as director of academic technology from 2002 to 2005. Professor Willbanks is a member of the American Law Institute, an academic fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, and a fellow of the American Bar Foundation. She serves as a commissioner on the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, and she served as reporter to the Vermont Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on Rules of Probate Procedure from 1998 to 2005.

She served on the Association of American Law Schools Membership Review Committee from 2004 to 2006 and has served on numerous accreditation teams for the ABA and AALS. She is currently the Consultant on Membership Review for the AALS. She has presented lectures on estate planning and tax reform at numerous seminars and has served on a number of commissions in the State of Vermont, including the Vermont State Commission on Tax Policy and the Governor’s Commission on Property Tax Reform. Professor Willbanks has also served as a member of the Vermont Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on Judicial Education, the Vermont Supreme Court’s Judicial Performance Review Committee, and the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Board. She is a member of the American Bar Association’s Tax Section and the Vermont Bar Association’s Probate and Trust Committee and Tax Committee.