UNC School of Law screened “Death & Taxes,” an award-winning documentary exploring wealth inequality and estate tax policy through filmmaker Justin Schein’s personal story with his father, on Wednesday afternoon. The film, which is not yet publicly available and has only screened at festivals, drew more than 30 students and tax faculty to Van Hecke-Wettach Hall. 

Schein joined virtually for a 40-minute Q&A following the screening, answering questions on topics ranging from optimal estate tax exemption levels to the ethical obligations of tax lawyers. 

Professor Kathleen DeLaney Thomas, who organized the screening for her Tax Policy seminar, said the film offered something traditional academic materials cannot. 

“There is something a bit detached and sterile about discussing these issues only in a classroom, particularly when you are discussing issues that many of us don’t have personal experience with,” Thomas said. “What really struck me about the film is it tells a very personal family story. And because it’s a family story, it is complex, and nuanced, and emotional.” 

The film centers on Schein’s father, Harvey, a self-made businessman whose views on inheritance and taxation evolved as he aged. Through archival footage spanning decades, viewers watch father and son grapple with different perspectives on the American Dream and wealth transfer. 

“It’s one thing to talk about that idea in the abstract, but to experience it through archival footage of a real family, having real discussions, and a father whose views were shaped by his real experiences…that makes me contemplate these policy issues on a much different, and I think deeper, level,” Thomas said. 

During the Q&A, Schein asked whether estate planning attorneys are ethically required to use all legal loopholes to reduce clients’ taxes, prompting a debate on legal ethics versus fairness in tax practice. 

Students asked about optimal estate tax exemption levels, whether tax avoidance loopholes undermine the policy’s effectiveness, and how generational and cultural factors shape perspectives on wealth taxation. One student observed the contrast between Schein’s mother’s views and his father’s, noting how their different upbringings seemed to influence their tax policy positions. 

Thomas said students’ questions reflected sophisticated thinking about how personal circumstances shape policy beliefs. “One thing I want for my students is for them to see nuance in every issue — regardless of their view, I want them to think deeply and hard about opposing views and why people hold them,” she said. “Watching a family work through their opposing views on film, as they also experienced every day struggles that all families do, really brought that to life.” 

“Death & Taxes” has screened at film festivals across the country and features interviews with economists including Robert Reich, alongside conservative voices like Grover Norquist and Frank Luntz. The film examines how an estimated $100 trillion in wealth will transfer from one generation to another in coming decades. 

“A documentary about tax policy that makes you not just think, but really feel something, is a rare find and I’m grateful we had a chance to screen it here,” Thomas said. 

The screening was made possible by the Marvin K. and Florence T. Blount Lectures on Estate Planning and Taxes fund.