Krause v. Commissioner

57 T.C. 890, 1972 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 153
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedMarch 30, 1972
DocketDocket No. 6125-69
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 57 T.C. 890 (Krause 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
Krause v. Commissioner, 57 T.C. 890, 1972 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 153 (tax 1972).

Opinion

Sterrett, Judge:

The respondent determined deficiencies in petitioners’ Federal income tax for the taxable years 1964, 1965, and 1966 in the respective amounts of $24,852.27, $30,843.80, and $42,878.31.

The issues presented for determination are:

(1) Whether the six trusts created by petitioners for the benefit of their children and grandchildren are bona fide partners in A. K. Co., a limited partnership.

(2) Whether the trusts are controlled by the grantor trust provisions, thereby causing the trusts income to be taxable to petitioners.

FINDINGS OF FACT

Some of the facts have been stipulated and the stipulation of facts and the exhibits attached thereto are incorporated herein by this reference.

Adolph K. Krause and Janet S. Krause (sometimes hereinafter referred to as petitioners or Adolph and Janet), are husband and wife, whose legal address was Kockford, Mich., as of the date their petition was filed with the Tax Court. Their joint Federal income tax returns for the taxable years 1964, 1965, and 1966 were filed on the cash basis with the district director of internal revenue at Detroit, Mich.

On February 5, 1959, petitioners executed a partnership agreement pursuant to the Michigan Limited Partnership Statutes, wherein they created a limited partnership known as A. K. Co. The certificate of limited partnership filed with the Clerk of Kent County, Mich., characterized the business to be transacted as follows:

To engage in any kind of commercial, industrial or mercantile enterprise, including, but not by way of limitation, to ¡manufacture, produce, acquire, own, bold, rent, lease, sell, service otherwise dispose of or deal in, goods, wares and merchandise of every kind and description and any class or kind of property that is or may become the subject of trade or commerce; to purchase, own, lease, exchange, improve, develop, deal in mortgage and pledge any and all real and personal property of every kind and nature, including rights, interests, franchises, licenses, privileges, patents, designs, processes and inventions; to acquire by purchase, subscription, contract or otherwise, and to hold, sell, exchange, mortgage, pledge or otherwise dispose of and deal in all forms of securities, including shares, stocks, bonds, debentures, notes, mortgages, evidences of indebtedness and certificates of interest by whomsoever issued; to act in any and all parts of the world in any capacity whatsoever as financial or business agent or representative, general or special; and to do all other acts and things incidental to or in the aid of any of the objects or purposes of this partnership.

The petitioners’ capital contribution to A. K. Co. consisted of the following jointly held property.

2 apartment buildings,
18 shares Consumers Power Co., pref. 4.5%
92 shares Sears, Roebuck & Co.
75 shares Standard Oil of Indiana
15 shares Standard Oil of New Jersey
315 shares U.S. Steel Corp.
53 shares Dexter Industries, Inc.
17,965 shares Wolverine Shoe & Tanning Corp. (now Wolverine World Wide, Inc.)

The partnership books reflected a total capital contribution of $171,-643.66 allocated as follows;

General partners
Adolph K. Krause_$34,328. 73
Janet S. Krause- 34, 328. 73
Limited partners
Adolph K. Krause_$102, 985. 20
Janet S. Krause_ 1. 00

Petitioners agreed to allocate 40 percent of the net profits to the general partnership interest and 60 percent to the limited partnership interest. The 40-percent interest was divided equally between both petitioners while the 60-percent limited partnership interest was allocated solely to Adolph.

In reference to the limited partnership interest, the certificate of limited partnership stated, in part:

VIII.
There is no agreed time when the contributions of the limited partners are to be returned.
X.
The interests of all of the limited partners herein may be transferred on the approval of the general partners to accept a new assignee as a limited partner.

Contemporaneous with the execution of this partnership agreement, petitioners on February 5, 1959, created six trusts for the benefit of their children and grandchildren. Adolph entered into a trust agreement between himself and Old Kent Bank & Trust Co. and Sidney A. Veltman as cotrustees, creating three trusts: The Janice K. Ziegler Trust for the benefit of Janice K. Ziegler; the Shirley K. Brackett Trust for the benefit of Shirley K. Brackett; and the Jack A. Krause Trust for the benefit of Jack A. Krause (hereinafter referred to as the children’s trusts). The trusts were each funded with $100 in cash and 50 shares of Wolverine Shoe & Tanning Corp. (hereinafter sometimes referred to as Wolverine).

Janet also executed a trust agreement creating three trusts: The Janice K. Ziegler’s Children’s Trust for the benefit of the children of Janice K. Ziegler; the Shirley K. Brackett’s Children’s Trust for the benefit of the children of Shirley K. Brackett; and the Jack A. Krause’s Children’s Trust for the benefit of the children of Jack A. Krause (hereinafter referred to as the grandchildren’s trust). Jack A. Krause had no children at the time of the creation of the above-noted trust. Janet named the same trustees as had been selected by her husband. The trusts were each funded with $100 in cash and 25 shares of Wolverine.

The express provisions of each trust executed by the respective petitioners provided in pertinent part, as follows :

3. Beneficiaries of the Trusts
(a) * * *
The Trustees shall hold, invest and reinvest the principal of each such Trust and may accumulate the income therefrom, add the same to principal, or retain it as undistributed income, or may pay tbe same or any part thereof, at such times and in such manner * * * and in such shares * * * as the Trustees shall determine, in their sole and absolute discretion * * * to or for the benefit of each such first life beneficiary of each respective Trust, or to such first life beneficiary’s spouse * * * or to the issue of such first life beneficiary or to any other issue of the Grantor.
(e) The Grantor hereby expressly disclaims and waives any and all interest in and control over the Trusts, or the property thereof, for himself and for his estate.
♦ ^ ^ >1» i'.i
5.

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

Related

Jason B. Sage v. Commissioner
154 T.C. No. 12 (U.S. Tax Court, 2020)
Tifd Iii-E, Inc. v. United States
666 F.3d 836 (Second Circuit, 2012)
Reynolds v. Commissioner
1987 T.C. Memo. 261 (U.S. Tax Court, 1987)
Madorin v. Commissioner
84 T.C. No. 44 (U.S. Tax Court, 1985)
Garcia v. Commissioner
1984 T.C. Memo. 340 (U.S. Tax Court, 1984)
Estate of Levy v. Commissioner
1983 T.C. Memo. 453 (U.S. Tax Court, 1983)
Manuel v. Commissioner
1983 T.C. Memo. 138 (U.S. Tax Court, 1983)
Blitzer v. United States
684 F.2d 874 (Court of Claims, 1982)
Ketter v. Commissioner
70 T.C. 637 (U.S. Tax Court, 1978)
Carriage Square, Inc. v. Commissioner
69 T.C. 119 (U.S. Tax Court, 1977)
Estate of Bischoff v. Commissioner
69 T.C. 32 (U.S. Tax Court, 1977)
Buehner v. Commissioner
65 T.C. 723 (U.S. Tax Court, 1976)
Ginsberg v. Commissioner
1973 T.C. Memo. 220 (U.S. Tax Court, 1973)
Bixby v. Commissioner
58 T.C. 757 (U.S. Tax Court, 1972)
Krause v. Commissioner
57 T.C. 890 (U.S. Tax Court, 1972)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
57 T.C. 890, 1972 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 153, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/krause-v-commissioner-tax-1972.