Professor Stephanie J. Willbanks

Professor Stephanie J. Willbanks is an expert in federal transfer taxation, income taxation, probate, intestacy, 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. She is the author of "Federal Taxation of Wealth Transfers: Cases and Problems" as well as "Federal Estate and Gift Taxation: Quick Review."

Professor Willbanks received her BA degree, magna cum laude, in 1972 and her JD 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 VLS faculty in 1981. In 1986, she became the first female faculty member to receive tenure at VLS. She is currently serving as the Vice Dean for Faculty. She served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from 1989 to 1994 and from 1997 to 2002, as Vice Dean for Academic Affairs from 2005 to 2009, and as Vice Dean for Administration and Student Affairs from 2014 to 2017. She also served as Director of Academic Technology from 2002 to 2005.

Professor Willbanks is an academic fellow of the American College of Trust and Estates Counsel (ACTEC), a member of the American Law Institute, and a commissioner on the Uniform Law Commission. 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 on numerous accreditation teams for the ABA and AALS. She served as the Consultant on Membership Review for the AALS from 2010 to 2017. 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. She 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 Vermont Bar Association's Probate and Trust Section and Tax Section.