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Taxation-Federal Estate Tax-Joint Tenancy-Retroactivity, Richard S. Brawerman

Michigan Law Review

The recent decision by the Supreme Court in United States v. Jacobs deals with the troublesome issue of retroactivity under the federal estate tax law. The decedent whose estate was involved in this case had paid the entire consideration for certain real estate which was conveyed to himself and his wife as joint tenants. This transaction took place in 1909. The decedent died in 1924, shortly after the effective date of the Revenue Act of that year. The Commissioner of Internal Revenue included the entire value of the real estate in the decedent's gross estate. The executors paid the tax …