Chodorow comments on 'rise of zombies'

Adam Chodorow, associate dean for Innovative Ventures at the College of Law was interviewed by BBC Scotland in a story titled, “Everybody’s shuffling: Rise of zombies in modern life.” The article quotes Chodorow in connection with his article, “Death and Taxes and Zombies,” which continues to be picked up by various media outlets.

“While this article was meant primarily as a humour piece, one of the things law professors do is to look at the law from different and unexpected angles,” Chodorow explained to the BBC.

The article, forthcoming in the Iowa Law Review, “fills a glaring gap in the academic literature by examining how the estate and income tax laws apply to the undead,” according to its abstract. “Beginning with the critical question whether the undead should be considered dead for estate tax purposes, the article continues on to address income tax issues the undead are likely to face.

“In addition to zombies, the article also considers how estate and income tax laws should apply to vampires and ghosts. Given the difficulties identified herein of applying existing tax law to the undead, new legislation may be warranted. However, any new legislation is certain to raise its own set of problems. The point here is not to identify the appropriate approach. Rather, it is to goad Congress and the IRS into action before it is too late.”