Evans v. Commissioner

56 T.C. 1142, 1971 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 74
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedAugust 23, 1971
DocketDocket No. 2465-69
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 56 T.C. 1142 (Evans 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
Evans v. Commissioner, 56 T.C. 1142, 1971 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 74 (tax 1971).

Opinion

Atkins, Judge:

Respondent determined a deficiency in income tax against petitioners for the taxable year 1965 in tfie amount of $8,495.57. Tfie issue presented for decision is tfie amount, if any, includable in petitioners’ income on account of tfie receipt during 1965 from a qualified pension trust following tfie trust’s termination of eigfit contracts with, an insurance company. An adjustment to the allowable deduction for medical expenses is in issue only because it depends upon the proper amount of gross income.

FINDINGS OF FACT

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

Aubrey itolpfi and Doris Ii. Evans are husband and wife and were such during tfie taxable year 1965. At tfie time of tfie filing of tfie petition herein they resided in Westfield, N.J. They filed their joint Federal income tax return for the taxable year 1965 with tfie district director of internal revenue, Newark, N.J. As a matter of convenience Aubrey Ralph Evans will hereinafter be referred to as tfie petitioner.

Petitioner was continuously employed by W. J. Bush & Co., Inc. (hereinafter referred to as Bush), and its successor II. D. Webb & Company, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as Webb), from 1933 to August 31, 1967. As of December 31, 1945, Bush adopted an “Income Continuance Plan” (hereinafter referred to as tfie plan) for the benefit of its employees, under which both tfie employer and tfie employees would make contributions. A trust agreement was executed by and between Bush and the National City Bank of Cleveland on December 28, 1945, to implement tfie plan. Tfie trust agreement recited that tfie purpose of tfie trust was to provide for the employees an income upon retirement. It provided that every employee who became a participant should be deemed to have assented to all tfie terms and provisions of tfie trust agreement and of each contract issued for bis benefit, and be bound thereby. It was provided that tfie trustee should apply to such legal reserve life insurance company or companies as it might select for tfie issuance of such level premium contract or contracts for tfie benefit of tfie participants as would best insure tfie payment of the benefits to be provided for tfie employees. It was further provided that the contract to be applied for would, among other things, provide:

(a) for tlie payment of monthly retirement benefits commencing at normal retirement elate with a uniform minimum guarantee of at least 60 monthly payments and, in the event of death of the retired Participant, the payment of any unpaid guaranteed monthly payments to a designated beneficiary; and
(b) for the payment of proceeds to a designated beneficiary in the event of the death of. the Participant before normal retirement date; and
(e) for such Participants who are insurable at standard rates or at an extra annual premium not in excess of $10.00 per $1,000 of insurance, or 10% of tbe standard premiums whichever is larger, under the rules and regulations of the Issuing Insurance Company, insurance to normal retirement date in an amount not less than 100 times ‘the monthly retirement payment.

It was further provided that all contracts issued should designate the trustee as the sole owner thereof and should be held by the trustee.

The trust created as of December 31, 1945, constituted an employees’ trust as described in section 401(a) of the Internal Eevenue Code of 1954 which was exempt from tax under section 501(a) of the Code from its inception and through all times pertinent herein.

Petitioner was one of the employees eligible to join the plan. Pie joined and participated in the plan from its inception. About April 1, 1958, Webb became the successor to Bush. In connection therewith the employees of Bush, including the petitioner, became the employees of Webb. Webb also adopted and assumed all obligations under the above plan and trust.

Under the terms of the trust agreement, the trustees purchased eight contracts from the Occidental Life Insurance Company of California (hereinafter referred to as Occidental) for the benefit of the petitioner as follows:

Contract Nos. Date Issued
2204220_ Dec. 31, 1945
2204133_ Dec. 31, 1945
2205809_ Dec. 31,1946
1723241_ Dec. 31,1951
Contract Nos. Date Issued
1729570_ Dec. 31, 1952
1740703_ Dec. 31,1954
1744308_ Dec. 31,1955
1751517_ Dec. 31,1957

The terms of all the contracts were substantially the same, except as to the amounts of money involved.

Each contract provided that it might be assigned by the owner at any time, but that no assignment was binding on Occidental until it was filed with it.

Each of the contracts provided that Occidental would pay the petitioner a retirement income of a certain amount per month when he attained the age of 65, such income to be payable for 60 months certain and for as long thereafter as petitioner lived. The contract also provided for certain elections. At the time of retirement the petitioner could elect any one of four optional monthly incomes in lieu of the above monthly retirement income. One option was to receive a reduced monthly income for 120 months certain and thereafter during his lifetime. Another option was to receive a reduced monthly income for 180 months certain and thereafter during his lifetime. Another option was to receive a joint and last survivor monthly income payable so long as either the petitioner or a named beneficiary should live. It ivas also provided tbat the petitioner might elect to receive a reduced monthly retirement income at any time not more than 15 years before the normal retirement date. He also had the right to elect to receive a postponed retirement income to commence not later than 5 years after the normal retirement date. Each contract provided that if petitioner should die while receiving monthly income payments, all monthly payments remaining for the period certain, or their commuted value, should be made to the beneficiary named by petitioner.

Each contract provided that in the event the petitioner died before attaining age 65 Occidental would pay either the face amount of the contract (which amounted to 100 times the monthly retirement income) or the cash surrender value of the contract, whichever was greater, to the beneficiary designated by the petitioUer.

Each of the contracts provided that if any premium remained in default after a grace period of 31 days the contract would cease, subject to certain nonforfeiture provisions. Under such nonforfeiture provisions the petitioner had available the following options:

1. Cash. To Surrender This Policy To The Company For The Net Cash Value.— Which is the cash value as shown in Column 1 of the table less any indebtedness to the Company hereon.

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

Related

Funkhouser v. Commissioner
58 T.C. 940 (U.S. Tax Court, 1972)
Evans v. Commissioner
56 T.C. 1142 (U.S. Tax Court, 1971)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
56 T.C. 1142, 1971 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 74, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/evans-v-commissioner-tax-1971.