Estate of Dinell v. Commissioner

58 T.C. 73, 1972 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 148
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedApril 17, 1972
DocketDocket No. 3695-69
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 58 T.C. 73 (Estate of Dinell 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 Dinell v. Commissioner, 58 T.C. 73, 1972 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 148 (tax 1972).

Opinion

Atkins, Judge:

The respondent determined a deficiency in estate tax in the amount of $22,536.83. The primary issue is whether the transfer made by the decedent to 'her two children of a reversionary interest in a trust created by the decedent was made by decedent in contemplation of death with the result that the value of such rever-sionary interest is to be included in her gross estate under the provisions of section 2035 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. Also in issue is the question of the amount of the deduction to which the estate is entitled on account of administration expenses.

FINDINGS OF FACT

Some of the facts have been stipulated and are incorporated herein by this reference.

At the time of the filing of the petition herein First National City Bank had its principal office at New York, N.Y. At that time the legal residence of Judy Nan Hacohen was Rowayton, Conn., and the legal residence of Tom Dinell was Honolulu, Hawaii.

Judith C. Dinell, hereinafter referred to as the decedent, was a resident of Norwalk, Conn. She died on September 18, 1965, at the age of 72 years. The Federal estate tax return was filed with the district director of internal revenue, Hartford, Conn.

The decedent had two children, Judy Nan Hacohen and Tom Dinell.

The decedent survived her husband Monroe L. Dinell who died on October 13,1956.

Under the provisions of the will of Monroe L. Dinell, two-thirds of his residuary estate was placed in trust, with income to the decedent for life, the remainder as decedent should appoint by will, and if decedent did not exercise such power of appointment, then the residuary estate was to be divided into two equal shares, one for his daughter Judy Nan Hacohen and one for his son Tom Dinell, with income to them for life.

On December 4,1958, the decedent executed her last will and testament. Therein she specifically stated that it was not her intention to exercise any power of appointment which she might have under the provisions of the will of her deceased husband Monroe L. Dinell.

In her will the decedent 'bequeathed all her tangible personal property to her Children in equal shares. Therein she provided for specific bequests of $50,000 each to her daughter Judy Nan Hacohen and to her son Tom Dinell, if they survived her. Therein it was provided that the residue of her estate should be held in trust, the same to be divided into two equal shares for her two children, with each child entitled to no less than 50 per cent of the net income for life, with a special power of appointment in each child exercisable by will. Judy knew that she and Tom were the beneficiaries under her mother’s will.

On March 30, 1959, decedent established an irrevocable and un-amendable trust of personal property, naming the First National City Bank of New York as trustee and her two children as equal income beneficiaries for the duration of the trust. Such instrument provided for a reversionary interest as follows:

(U) Upon the death of the Grantor or upon the expiration of eleven years from the date of this Agreement, whichever event shall last occur, this trust shall terminate and the Trustee shall transfer and pay over all of the then existing principal trust property to the Executor or other personal representative of the estate of the Grantor to become and be disposed of as a part of such estate.

The trust instrument further provided that if Judy should die during the term of the trust, her one-half of the net income was to be paid to or for the use of her children, and if Tom should die during the term of the trust his one-half of the income was to be paid to or for the use of his widow.

The decedent filed a gift tax return for the calendar year 1959 reporting a gift to her son and daughter accomplished by the above trust, valuing such gift at $46,909.04, and reporting gift tax due in the amount of $450.

On June 30, 1964, decedent executed a document in which she made reference to the above reversionary interest contained in the instrument of March 30,1959, and assigned such reversionary interest in the trust to 'her two children as follows:

Whereas, the undersigned, Judith 0. Dinell, desires to make a gift of said remainder interest to her children, Judy Nan Hacohen and Tom Dinell;
Now Therefore, the undersigned, JUDITH 0. DINELL, does by these presents deliver, sell, assign, transfer and set over unto JUDY NAN HACOHEN and TOM DINELL, in equal shares, all of her right, title and interest of every kind, nature and description, whether vested or contingent, in and to the principal, income and remainder of the trust established under said Trust Agreement dated March 30, 1959 of which First National City Bank is the duly qualified and acting Trustee; and
The undersigned, JUDITH C. DINELL, does hereby constitute and appoint the said JUDY NAN HACOHEN and TOM DINELL, her true and lawful attorneys in her name, place and stead, to ask, demand, sue for, attach, levy, recover and receive all sums of money, securities and property of every kind and description which now or may hereafter become due, owing and payable for, or on account of the trust remainder and interest above assigned, giving and granting unto the said attorneys full power and authority to do and perform all and every act and thing whatsoever requisite and necessary, as fully, to all intents and purposes, as she might or could do, if personally present, with full power of substitution and revocation, hereby ratifying and confirming all that her said attorneys or their substitute shall lawfully do, or cause to he done by virtue hereof.

On June 30, 1964, decedent executed a first codicil to her will revoking the provisions thereof which provided for specific bequests of $50,000 each to her son and daughter, but confirming and ratifying the will in all other respects.

The decedent filed a gift tax return for the calendar year 1964 reporting a value of $161,281.73 for the gift olf the reversionary interest which she transferred to her children on June 30, 1964, and reporting a gift tax liability for the year of $29,967.92.

At the time of the transfer of the reversionary interest in question on June 30,1964, the decedent was in good health.

The decedent was survived by her daughter Judy Nan Hacohen, her son Tom Dinell and 11 grandchildren. Judy Nan Hacohen and Tom Dinell received no money from their father’s estate prior to the death of their mother in 1965.

The decedent’s daughter Judy married Nahum Hacohen on July 24, 1955. They have four children who were born in 1958, 1960, 1963, and 1965. At the time of their marriage Mr. Hacohen was unemployed. Shortly after their marriage the Hacohens moved to Israel where Mr. Hacohen took employment. When Monroe L. Dinell died in the fall of 1956, the decedent paid the transportation expenses ifor her daughter to return from Israel to the United States for the funeral.

At the end of 1958 the Hacohens returned to the United States where Mr. Hacohen was employed in Los Angeles. The decedent paid for all transportation expenses and for shipment of household goods.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Estate of Halbach v. Commissioner
1980 T.C. Memo. 309 (U.S. Tax Court, 1980)
Estate of Dinell v. Commissioner
58 T.C. 73 (U.S. Tax Court, 1972)
Estate of Bartlett v. Commissioner
54 T.C. 1590 (U.S. Tax Court, 1970)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
58 T.C. 73, 1972 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 148, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/estate-of-dinell-v-commissioner-tax-1972.