Taxation-Federal Estate and Gift Commons^™

Transfers Intended To Take Effect At Or After Death

Indiana Law Journal

Recent Cases: Taxation

Taxation-Federal Estate Tax-Charitable Deduction-Certainity Of Amount Of Gift In Remainder To Charity When Corpus May Be Invaded For Life Tenant, Frank L. Adamson S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Testator left his estate in trust for the life of his mother, giving her a life income of $750 per month. The trustees were authorized to use the rest of the income and the principal for her "pleasure, comfort and welfare" and were instructed to care and provide for her as she might desire. A deduction for a gift to charity of a portion of the remainder was disallowed by the commissioner. The executor sued to recover the tax paid, alleging that the annual income from the estate exceeded the mother's fixed share by $6000, that she had independent investments, …

Options And Valuation Of Property For Federal Tax Purposes, William J. Bowe

Vanderbilt Law Review

In Estate of John Q. Strange, there was an agreement between two brothers, engaged in business in a close corporation, which provided that upon the death of either, the survivor might acquire the stock of the other upon payment of $10,000 to his estate. Payment was so made following the decedent's death. The fair market value of the stock on the date of death was stipulated to be $238,126.54. The Board of Tax Appeals held that the option price of $10,000 was the proper amount to be included in the decedent's gross estate as the value of his stock.

In …

Gift Taxability Of Divorce Settlements

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Taxation-Federal Estate Tax-Transfers Of Life Insurance In Contemplation Of Death, Ralph E. Hunt S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Insurance policies on the life of a decedent are ordinarily included in his gross estate according to the provisions of section 811 (g) of the Internal Revenue Code. Where the policy is payable to a beneficiary other than the executor, it is taxable under section 811(g)(2): (1) if the decedent paid premiums on the policy, in proportion to the amount of premiums paid by him in relation to the total premiums paid, or (2) if the decedent possessed at his death any of the incidents of ownership. However, these provisions are not exclusive; even though section 811 (g) is inapplicable, …

Quasi-Contracts -- Taxation -- Rescission Of Gift For Failure To Achieve Donor's Purpose Of Minimizing Federal Income Taxes, N. S. Peterman S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In 1937, plaintiff made a gift of stock in a closed corporation to his wife, the defendant. For two years defendant received cash dividends on the stock transferred to her and paid income taxes thereon. Late in 1938 the corporation was dissolved; the assets were distributed to the shareholders, and a partnership was formed. Defendant continued to report the income received by her from the partnership. In 1946, the Tax Court sustained the contention of the commissioner of internal revenue that the entire income from this partnership was taxable to plaintiff under the doctrine of Commissioner v. Tower. Plaintiff …

The Church And Spiegel Cases: A Reinterpretation Of The "Possession Or Enjoyment" Clause Of I.R.C. 811 ©, William J. Schrenk Jr., Richard V. Wellman

Michigan Law Review

Although federal tax statutes have provided for over thirty years that "transfers intended to take effect in possession or enjoyment at or after death" shall be included in the grantor's gross estate for estate tax purposes attempts to define precisely the scope of this language have not been outstanding for their success. In two recent decisions by the Supreme Court, Commissioner v. Church and Spiegel v. Commissioner, a further attempt at clarification has been made.

Will Renunciation Of A Bequest Or Failure To Claim A Statutory Share Constitute A Taxable Gift?, Daniel D. Canale, Robert E. Cooper

Vanderbilt Law Review

In 1948 the 80th Congress amended the Internal Revenue Code in an effort to eliminate the discrimination theretofore enjoyed by residents of states which had adopted the community property system.' Substantial equalization in the estate and gift tax fields is expected to follow from the marital deduction and "gift tax splitting" privileges. Moreover, these changes have focused attention upon a problem which caused considerable concern to conservative tax advisors even before the 1948 Tax Amendment. It has long been a doubtful question whether the renunciation of testamentary benefits would be held to constitute a taxable gift. The Act and the …

Book Reviews, Philip A. Hendrick, Charles L.B. Lowndes (Reviewer), Adrian W. Dewind (Reviewer), Chas. A. Morehead (Reviewer), John R. Stivers (Reviewer)

Vanderbilt Law Review

An Estate Planner's Handbook By Mayo Adams Shattuck

Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1948. Pp. 575. $7.50

reviewer: Philip A. Hendrick

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Estate Planning and Estate Tax Saving By Edward N. Polisher

Philadelphia: George T. Bisel Company. Second Edition, 1948. 2 Volumes. Pp. xxxii, 923. $20.00

reviewer: Charles L.B. Lowndes

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Federal Taxes--Corporations and Partnerships, 1948-49 By Robert H. Montgomery, Conrad B. Taylor and Mark E. Richardson

Vol. I: Gross Income and Deductions Vol. II: Taxes, Returns and Administration New York: The Ronald Press Company, 1948. Pp. xiii, 1001; pp. iv, 881. $20.00

Federal Taxes--Estates, Trusts and Gifts, 1948-49

By …

Taxation-Federal Estate Tax-Inclusion In Gross Estate Of Transfer By Which Settlor Retained Power To Terminate, C. C. Grunewald S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In 1928, decedent established a trust giving his wife the income for her life, with a remainder to his three children. Decedent, as co-trustee, retained power to pay portions of the corpus to his wife and to change the trust on his approval of a written request by his wife. When the estate challenged the commissioner's assessment of a tax deficiency, the Tax Court, relying on the power to invade the principal, included the trust corpus in the gross estate under section 811(d)(2) of the I.R.C., no reduction being allowed for the wife's life estate since no method of evaluating …