Meurer v. Commissioner

18 T.C. 530, 1952 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 165
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedJune 17, 1952
DocketDocket No. 26714
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 18 T.C. 530 (Meurer 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
Meurer v. Commissioner, 18 T.C. 530, 1952 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 165 (tax 1952).

Opinion

OPINION.

Hill, Judge:

The first issue concerns the question of basis (unadjusted) to be employed in the determination of gain or loss resulting from the petitioner’s sale of a parcel of real property located in Natick, Massachusetts, during the taxable year 1944. Petitioner maintains that she purchased this property for rental purposes so that its proper basis (unadjusted) is its cost.

We believe the evidence presented does not support petitioner’s position. On the contrary, it indicates that the property was acquired as a personal residence. The facts surrounding the purchase of the property may best be summed up by several statements made by the petitioner when she was testifying at the hearing of this case. At one time she stated: “As I told you, my brother was not well and I being the oldest of the family, they thought I should be the one to buy the house and look after him. He had to live out of town and I used to go to see him every week.” Another time she stated: “The property was bought and put in my name so that I could look after my brother.” She also testified that the sum she paid for the house, $22,000, was given to her by her father. From the date it was purchased until the date of his death in December 1929, the petitioner’s brother occupied this property as his residence, rent free.

We believe the evidence indicates that the purchase of the property in question was a family affair, that the main purpose for its purchase was to provide a member of the family with a residence outside the city and that ownership of the property was acquired in the name of the petitioner in order to effectuate this purpose. The property was purchased as a personal family residence and not as rental property.

Petitioner argues in the alternative, however, that even if the property was originally purchased for residential property it was converted to rental property upon the death of her brother. We believe that the property was in fact converted to rental property. After petitioner’s brother died it was never occupied by the petitioner or any of her family. It was held out for rental and after a short time was rented and at all times thereafter it was rented or held out for rental until it was sold in the taxable year 1944. Wherever any such conversion of property purchased by the taxpayer takes place, the proper basis (unadjusted) is cost or market value on the date of conversion, whichever is the lesser,1 and the burden of proving basis is on the taxpayer. H. W. Wahlert, 17 T. C. 655. While petitioner introduced evidence that the property was in good condition when it was converted, no evidence was introduced as to its market value. Accordingly, for failure of proof in this respect, we hold that petitioner has not established that the respondent erred in reducing the basis of this property.

The second issue concerns petitioner’s right to a deduction in the year 1944 for an alleged loss resulting from a transaction entered into for profit. The facts with respect to this issue are somewhat involved. The transaction concerns a piece of property which had been owned by petitioner’s mother and consisted of a large summer home on Long Island known as Belle Terre.' In her last will and testament petitioner’s mother provided that title in this property was to pass to her executrix, the petitioner, who was to sell the property and distribute the proceeds equally to herself, as an individual, and her two sisters. The will also provided (1) that until such time as the property was sold petitioner was entitled to use it as a summer residence, and (2) that the estate should have some discretion with respect to the time and manner of selling the property so that the beneficiaries should not have to suffer the rigors of a forced sale. The petitioner, as executrix, did not sell the property and distribute the proceeds as the will directed. Instead the three sisters in December 1938 renounced their right, title, and interest to the specific bequest of the proceeds of the sale of the property. The property then fell into the residuary estate.2 However, the will provided that the residue of the estate was to be divided into three parts; four-tenths to constitute the corpus of a trust of which petitioner was to be the income beneficiary for life with power of appointment and the remaining six-tenths of the residue of the estate to be divided equally as the corpora of the two trusts of which the other two sisters were the beneficiaries. Accordingly, by virtue of tbeir renunciation, the three sisters’ interests in the property were not surrendered but rather converted.

Several months after they had renounced their interests in the above-mentioned legacy the three sisters, on February 25,1939, entered into what was termed a “memorandum agreement” between the three sisters individually on the one hand and the petitioner, as executrix, on the other hand. This instrument contained several material provisions. The three sisters offered to purchase from the estate either “the proceeds of the sale of the Belle Terre property” or the property itself for a consideration of $48,000. This offer was to remain open for a period of at least 3 years and was to continue thereafter until the termination by any of the parties upon 30-days’ notice. During the period it was to remain open petitioner, as executrix, was free to accept or reject this offer. The three sisters also undertook to relieve the estate of the obligation to maintain the property during such period.

The parties permitted this offer to remain open until November 22, 1944, when it was terminated. During the period it remained open considerable expenses were incurred in maintaining the property. The petitioner paid these expenses out of the estate funds and she then deducted such amounts from the yearly income to which the three sisters were otherwise entitled under the provisions of the will so that they, in fact, bore the burden of such expenses.

It is the petitioner’s position that she has suffered a loss in the year 1944 on a transaction entered into for profit and that the loss is deductible under section 23 (e) of the Internal Kevenue Code.3 She maintains that she was a party to a type of “option agreement” to purchase the property and that since this option was not taken up but was terminated in 1944 her share of the maintenance expenses incurred in the interim, the period 1939-1944, constituted a loss incurred during the taxable year 1944.

Prior to the renunciation under the provisions of paragraph Sixth of the will petitioner was entitled to one-third of the amount realizable on the sale of the Belle Terre property. After the renunciation petitioner was entitled to such additional income from the testamentary trust as would be realized by the increase of the corpus of the trust by four-tenths of the amount realizable on the sale of this property. At the close of the taxable year 1944 petitioner still held this same interest, the value of which may have increased, decreased, or remained the same depending upon what would then be realized on the sale of the property. We can find no loss here. Petitioner, however, would have us look only at her option agreement and maintains that the only transaction involved was an option to purchase property and that the transaction became a closed one when the option was terminated in 1944. We believe her position in this respect is unrealistic.

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Related

Meurer v. Commissioner
18 T.C. 530 (U.S. Tax Court, 1952)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
18 T.C. 530, 1952 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 165, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/meurer-v-commissioner-tax-1952.