WELCOME

On behalf of the Trustees of the Southern Federal Tax Institute, it is an honor to invite you to join us at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead for the 60th Annual Southern Federal Tax Institute.  As we mark our 60th Anniversary, it is appropriate to pause and reflect on the Southern Federal’s storied history of delivering timely and cutting-edge information to help you better navigate the issues our industry faces and advise your clients, while also providing a touch of southern hospitality to foster new introductions and lasting relationships.  We are deeply grateful to our attendees, speakers, and Trustees for helping the Southern Federal Tax Institute to become one of the premier tax programs in the country.

We have planned an exceptional program, scheduled for October 27 through October 31, 2025, which includes over thirty topics presented over five days by leading tax and estate planning practitioners.

We will continue our tradition of starting the Institute with an in-depth review of recent federal income tax developments. Monday afternoon will include presentations on legislative and regulatory developments including a review of the legislative landscape, along with a practical review of IRS and State Department of Taxation e-filing and web-based platforms. Tuesday is devoted to business entity taxation; the morning session will focus on partnership and real estate hot topics as well as real estate debt workouts, partnership exits, and structuring 1031 exchanges, while the afternoon session will address S corporate tax matters, structuring “rollover” transactions, and structuring investments in tech and life sciences companies.  Wednesday morning will offer employee benefits and tax accounting topics, along with a discussion of ESOP transactions. Wednesday afternoon will focus on topics in tax controversy and ethics issues ranging from partnership audit rules, resolving controversies through the IRS Independent Office of Appeals, a discussion of international information return penalties, and preserving and maintaining privilege.

Thursday and Friday will focus on trust and estate planning topics, beginning with an overview of recent developments. Thursday morning will continue with presentations on planning for the two weeks before and after a client’s death, and the final SECURE Act regulations on required minimum distributions. Thursday afternoon will include estate and gift tax controversy, planning in anticipation of legislative changes, international estate planning, and AI in estate planning.  Friday will include presentations on planning for buy-sell agreement after the Connelly case, planning for the death of a partner, the tax consequences of trust modifications, and a review of recent fiduciary cases.

While we believe that a vital part of the Institute is the hospitality and networking opportunities it provides, we have decided to continue our recent practice of making our programming available in a remote format for those who cannot join us in person.

Please plan to attend our receptions on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings. These cocktail parties are a wonderful venue for renewing friendships with longtime colleagues, introducing younger colleagues, and networking with leading tax practitioners.

We also encourage you to meet and thank our sponsors and exhibitors. Their support and generosity play an important part in delivering programs that are exceptional both in quality and value.

We look forward to welcoming you to the 60th Annual Southern Federal Tax Institute. On behalf of the Trustees, thank you for joining us.

Farhad Aghdami
President
Southern Federal Tax Institute