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Robinson, III, U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, 1984-1985 Beth Shapiro Kaufman Member, Washington, D.C. (202) 862-5062 bkaufman@capdale.com | v-card | PDF Beth Shapiro Kaufman is a Member in Caplin & Drysdale's Washington, D.C., office. She was President of the Firm from 2015 to 2018 and continues as an active member of the firm’s Board of Directors. Ms. Kaufman rejoined the firm's Private Client Group in 2001 after working for over six years in the Treasury Department's Office of Tax Policy. Serving first as Attorney Advisor and then as Associate Tax Legislative Counsel, Ms. Kaufman had principal responsibility for all tax policy matters affecting trusts and estates, including estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes, as well as income taxation of trusts and estates. She has continued her focus in these areas in private practice. Services At Caplin & Drysdale, Ms. Kaufman assists wealthy individuals with their estate planning. She also advises lawyers and other professionals on complex issues regarding estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. She is frequently retained by counsel to assist in estate and gift tax audits, to advocate a taxpayer's position before the Internal Revenue Service, or to seek a private letter ruling. Highlights While with the government, Ms. Kaufman was the primary Treasury representative involved in the legislative and regulatory developments affecting the taxation of trusts and estates. Legislative projects included the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 and the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. Regulatory projects included regulations on qualified domestic trusts, generation-skipping transfer tax, charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, adequate disclosure for gift tax purposes, separate share, definition of foreign and domestic trusts, and valuation tables. Ms. Kaufman is a member of the Adjunct Faculty for the University of Miami School of Law, Heckerling Graduate Program in Estate Planning and Georgetown University Law Center, where she teaches LLM-level courses on the Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax. Awards & Rankings National Association of Estate Planners & Councils, Awarded the Accredited Estate Planner® (Distinguished) designation and inducted into the “Estate Planning Hall of Fame” on November 7, 2019 Chambers High Net Worth Guide, Private Wealth Law, D.C. and USA: Eastern Region, 2016-Present Chambers USA, 2010-2016 The Legal 500, Recommended, 2014, 2015, 2020 Best Lawyers in America, Women in the Law, 2016; D.C. Trusts and Estates Lawyer of the Year, 2016 and 2018; Listed 2003-Present Expert Guides' World's Leading Women in Business Law, Leading Practitioner, 2014; Listed, 2013-Present Super Lawyers, Washington, D.C., 2008-Present; Top 50 Women Washington, DC, 2021 Northern Virginia Magazine, Top Lawyer, 2016 Fortune Magazine, Women Leaders in the Law, 2014 The Washingtonian, Top Money Advisers, 2014; Top Wealth Advisers, 2016; Best Financial Advisers, 2019, 2021; Top Lawyers, 2007-Present The Washington Post, Among the Top Attorneys in D.C., 2014 Martindale-Hubbell® AV® Preeminent™ Recent News Beth Kaufman Comments on IRS Cleaning Out Old Estate Tax Returns in Tax Notes, Tax Notes, November 19, 2021 Beth Kaufman Comments on Estate Planning Under Biden's New Tax Plan in Bloomberg Law, Bloomberg Law, November 16, 2021 Beth Kaufman Comments on Estate Planning Under Proposed Tax Plan in Bloomberg, Bloomberg Law, October 29, 2021 Tax Notes Quotes Beth Kaufman on Recent Tweaks to Grantor Trust Reform, Tax Notes, October 11, 2021 Beth Kaufman Weights in on Grantor Trust Reforms in Tax Notes, Tax Notes, October 4, 2021 Beth Kaufman Talks to CNBC on Proposed Tax Changes Impacting Life Insurance, CNBC, October 3, 2021 Beth Kaufman Talks to CNBC on Proposed Changes to Estate Tax, CNBC, September 29, 2021 Tax Notes Quotes Beth Kaufman on Changes to Gift and Estate Tax in Recently Proposed Tax Plan, Tax Notes, September 20, 2021 Beth Kaufman Weights in on Impacts of Possible House Tax Package in CNBC, CNBC, September 20, 2021 Beth Kaufman Talks to Bloomberg on Lower Estate and Gift Tax Exemption in Latest Tax Plan, Bloomberg Law, September 14, 2021 Click here for a full list of media coverage. Speaking Engagements Ms. Kaufman is a frequent lecturer on topics related to estate planning and has spoken before numerous professional groups, including the University of Miami Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, ALI-ABA, the ABA Tax and Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Sections. Below is a list of recent speaking engagements. Panelist, Individual Taxation: Estate and Gift Taxation Update, D.C. Bar Taxation Community's Legislative and Regulatory Update Conference, January 12, 2022 Speaker, Washington Update: A View from Inside the Beltway, The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, Planned Giving Round Table, November 18, 2021 Speaker, Tax Update, MACPA 2021 Advanced Tax Institute Day 2 Estate Planning Issues, November 9, 2021 Speaker, What You Need to Know About Significant Proposed Changes Affecting Estate Planning, ABA, Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law, November 4, 2021 Speaker, Federal Legislation Impacting the T&E World, Chicago Estate Planning Council, October 21, 2021 Speaker, Washington Update: A View from Inside the Beltway, Duke University Estate Planning Conference, October 20, 2021 Panelist, The Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Exemption: The Basics and Beyond, Mid-Atlantic Fellows Institute, September 30, 2021 Panelist, Now What?: Surviving the Recent Tax Law Changes – An Estate Planners Perspective, Mid-Atlantic Fellows Institute, September 30, 2021 Speaker, From Gift-Splitting to Hair-Splitting: Improving Your Odds in the Audit Lottery, North Carolina Bar Association, 42nd Annual Estate Planning & Fiduciary Law Program, July 23, 2021 Panelist, REPLAY: The Senate Went Blue, What Should Estate Planners Do?, ACTEC, February 23, 2021 Click here for a full list of speaking engagements. Recent Publications "2021 Ushers in Decreased D.C. Estate Tax Exemption, Potential Additional Probate and Estate Tax Legislation," with Anne J. O'Brien and Megan E. Wernke, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, January 5, 2021 "GST Exemption Allocation for 2019, Better Late than Timely," with Megan E. Wernke, Steve Leimberg's Estate Planning Email Newsletter, May 20, 2020 "Timely Estate Planning Techniques, Including "May Day" GRATs," with Anne J. O'Brien and Megan E. Wernke, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, April 30, 2020 ""May Day" GRATs: An Excellent Estate Planning Opportunity," with Anne J. O'Brien and Megan E. Wernke, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, April 30, 2020 "UPDATE: Gift Tax Return Due Date Now July 15, 2020," with Megan E. Wernke and Anne J. O'Brien, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, March 27, 2020 "Estate and Gift Tax Return Due Dates Not Postponed," with Megan E. Wernke and Anne J. O'Brien, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, March 27, 2020 "Congress Takes the Stretch Out of IRAs (and Other Retirement Assets)," with Anne J. O'Brien and Megan E. Wernke, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, January 6, 2020 "Supreme Court Rules Against North Carolina in Kaestner On State Income Taxation of Trusts: What Does This Mean for the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland?," with Megan E. Wernke, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, June 26, 2019 "UPDATED: Year-End Charitable Giving Ideas: IRA Rollovers and "Bunching" Charitable Deductions," with Anne J. O'Brien, William D. Fournier, and Megan E. Wernke, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, November 28, 2018 "2018 Ushers In New Estate Planning Opportunities and Pitfalls," with Anne J. O'Brien and Megan E. Wernke, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, January 18, 2018 Click here for a full list of publications. © 2021 Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered | Attorney Advertising | View Mobile Version | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Sitemap | Print