Estate of Cobb v. Commissioner

1982 T.C. Memo. 571, 44 T.C.M. 1281, 1982 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 178
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedSeptember 29, 1982
DocketDocket No. 4332-79.
StatusUnpublished

This text of 1982 T.C. Memo. 571 (Estate of Cobb v. Commissioner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Tax Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Estate of Cobb v. Commissioner, 1982 T.C. Memo. 571, 44 T.C.M. 1281, 1982 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 178 (tax 1982).

Opinion

ESTATE OF PEGGY COOK COBB, DECEASED, PEGGY JUNE GRIFFIN, EXECUTRIX, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
Estate of Cobb v. Commissioner
Docket No. 4332-79.
United States Tax Court
T.C. Memo 1982-571; 1982 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 178; 44 T.C.M. (CCH) 1281; T.C.M. (RIA) 82571;
September 29, 1982.
Peggy June Griffin, pro se.
Vallie C. Brooks, for the respondent.

SCOTT

MEMORANDUM FINDINGS OF FACT AND OPINION

SCOTT, Judge: Respondent determined a deficiency in the estate tax of the estate of Peggy Cook Cobb in the amount of $85,920.32.

Some of the issues raised by the pleadings have been disposed of by agreement of the parties leaving for our decision the following: (1) was the assessment and collection of a deficiency in estate tax barred by the statute of limitations at the time of the issuance of the notice of deficiency; (2) whether the value of an interest of Peggy Cook Cobb in the estate of her deceased husband arising by reason of a dissent she filed to his will is includable in the gross estate of Mrs. Cobb and, if so, the value of this interest; (3) whether the value of real property which was conveyed by Peggy Cook Cobb to her son and daughter by deeds executed on January 20, 1973, but not recorded until March 31, 1975, is includable in Mrs. Cobb's estate and, if so, *180 the value of the property; (4) what was the value at the date of Mrs. Cobb's death of a house and lot at 622 Shannon Avenue, Chattanooga, Tennessee; (5) what was the value at the date of Mrs. Cobb's death of 10 promissory notes secured by deeds of trust on the residences of the makers; (6) whether the balances of the various bank accounts maintained by Mrs. Cobb in her name on the date of her death are includable in her gross estate; and (7) whether the estate is entitled to a charitable deduction of $5,750 or any part thereof by reason of a statement in Mrs. Cobb's will. 1

FINDINGS OF FACT

Some of the facts have been stipulated and are found accordingly.

Peggy Cook Cobb (decedent) died on March 29, 1975. *181 Her daughter, Peggy June Griffin, is the executrix of her estate having qualified under the laws of the State of Tennessee. On the date of the filing of the petition in this case, Mrs. Griffin resided in Evensville, Tennessee. An estate tax return was filed by Mrs. Griffin, as executrix of Mrs. Cobb's estate, with the director of the Internal Revenue Service Center at Memphis, Tennessee, on March 31, 1976. On March 21, 1979, respondent mailed to Estate of Peggy G. Cobb, Peggy June Griffin, Executrix, Route 2, Box 165, Evensville, Tennessee 37332, a notice of deficiency in the estate tax of the estate.

In 1965, decedent married Newton A. Cobb who was an attorney at law. Decedent was a real estate broker. In the latter part of 1966, decedent voluntarily moved out of the household of her husband and returned to her prior residence. However, decedent and her husband frequently visited each other and filed joint Federal income tax returns as long as her husband lived. Mr. Cobb died on February 24, 1975. On March 10, 1975, during her last illness and while in the hospital, decedent signed a dissent from the will of her husband which was filed in the office of the Probate Clerk*182 for Hamilton County, Tennessee. On August 6, 1975, the executrix of the estate of Newton A. Cobb filed a complaint for declaratory judgment against Peggy June Griffin individually and as executrix of the estate of Peggy Cook Cobb, deceased, and Dale F. Cook, in which she requested a declaration by the Court that Mrs. Cobb, the widow of Newton A. Cobb, is not entitled to a distributive share of Newton A. Cobb's estate.

On March 4, 1976, the Chancery Court ruled that the dissent was valid and that Mrs. Cobb was entitled to a distributive share of her husband's estate under the statutes of the State of Tennessee. The estate of Newton A. Cobb filed an appeal from the holding of the Chancery Court to the Court of Appeals of Tennessee. The Court of Appeals, on October 22, 1976, affirmed the opinion of the Chancery Court and an appeal was taken to the Supreme Court of Tennessee. In an opinion filed on May 21, 1977, the Supreme Court of Tennessee affirmed the opinion of the Court of Appeals and the Chancery Court and remanded the case to the Chancery Court of Hamilton County for enforcement of the decree entered by that Court.

The attorney who represented decedent's estate in the*183 declaratory judgment suit had initially been employed by Mrs. Cobb to file a dissent to the last will and testament of her husband, Newton A. Cobb. After decedent's death, Mrs. Griffin and her brother, Dale F. Cook, retained this same attorney on a contingency fee basis which provided that, if the attorney was successful in obtaining the statutory portion of the estate of Newton A. Cobb for decedent's estate, he was to charge a fair fee for the amount of work he did and, if he was not successful in sustaining the dissent, he was not to receive any fee. Prior to the trial of the case in the Chancery Court, the attorney discussed with Mrs. Griffin a basis for settlement of the case. He also discussed the basis of settlement with Mrs. Griffin's brother, Dale F. Cook. The attorney suggested that if the dissent had to be fully litigated, a reasonable fee for his work would be one-third of the maximum value of the widow's statutory interest in the estate of Newton A. Cobb. He pointed out that he understood that the maximum value of the widow's interest was $278,886.82 and, therefore, if the case were fully litigated and the dissent upheld, decedent's estate would end up with approximately*184 $185,000 after payment of the attorney's fee. He suggested that, considering the litigating hazards involved, Mrs. Griffin and Mr. Cook, on behalf of Mrs. Cobb's estate, might wish to make an offer to the estate of Newton A. Cobb to settle the dissent for $200,000. The attorney stated that, if the matter were settled, he would ask a fee of $25,000 leaving the estate of Mrs. Cobb with a balance of $175,000. Mrs.

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Related

Porter v. Commissioner
49 T.C. 207 (U.S. Tax Court, 1967)
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71 T.C. 901 (U.S. Tax Court, 1979)
Estate of Curry v. Commissioner
74 T.C. 540 (U.S. Tax Court, 1980)

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Bluebook (online)
1982 T.C. Memo. 571, 44 T.C.M. 1281, 1982 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 178, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/estate-of-cobb-v-commissioner-tax-1982.