Sletteland v. Commissioner

43 T.C. 602, 1965 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 132
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedFebruary 8, 1965
DocketDocket No. 516-63
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 43 T.C. 602 (Sletteland 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
Sletteland v. Commissioner, 43 T.C. 602, 1965 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 132 (tax 1965).

Opinion

OPINION

Pierce, Judge:

The respondent determined a deficiency in the income taxes of the petitioners for the taxable calendar year 1960 in the amount of $4,442.74.

The sole issue for decision is whether section 642(h) of the 1954 Code and the regulations promulgated thereunder furnish warrant, for the principal petitioner’s deduction of $17,512 on his 1960 return, representing an alleged excess of deductions over gross income of the estate of his deceased father, upon the asserted termination of the estate in its fiscal year ended February 20,1960.

All of the facts were stipulated. The stipulated facts, together with the exhibits identified therein, are incorporated herein by reference. A summary of the stipulated facts is as follows:

The petitioners, Greggar and Virginia Sletteland, are husband and wife, residing in Glenview, Ill. They filed a joint Federal income tax return for the calendar year 1960 with the district director of internal revenue in Chicago. Greggar Sletteland will be hereinafter referred to as the petitioner.

In about the year 1951, petitioner’s father, Perry A. Sletteland (hereinafter called Perry), became liable as endorser on a series of promissory notes which he had endorsed in earlier years as a member of a partnership whose business had failed. The amount of such liability in 1951 was $27,487.70. At about this same time, Perry assigned to the noteholders the cash surrender value of several insurance policies on his life, as collateral security for the payment of his liability to the noteholders. In addition, the proceeds of said policies payable upon Perry’s death, while payable to his wife (and petitioner’s mother, Margaret T. Sletteland, hereinafter called Margaret), were also encumbered in favor of the noteholders.

Thereafter, while he lived, Perry paid $10,467.82, plus interest, on these notes, which payments were claimed as deductible business losses by Perry on his tax returns for the years when he made payment. The deductions so claimed were not disallowed by the Internal Revenue Service.

On February 20,1959, Perry died while a resident of Carmel, Calif., and his will, wherein Margaret was named executrix and sole beneficiary, was filed with the county clerk of Monterey, Calif. However, pursuant to the laws of California relating to the administration of small estates, Perry’s estate was administered without formal probate.

The only assets left by Perry were a bank account having a balance of $36.73; personal effects of nominal value; and claims of Perry against third parties, which were then estimated to be worth no more than $2,000. The insurance policies mentioned above had, immediately prior to Perry’s death, a total cash surrender value of $15,651.22; and the proceeds payable upon his death were $26,050.99. Also, at the time of Perry’s death, the balance of his obligations on the above-mentioned notes which he had endorsed, was $17,019.88, plus current interest.

Following Perry’s death, and prior to July 31,1959, Margaret used her own personal assets to discharge Perry’s indebtedness. This action relieved Perry’s estate of all liability on the notes; and it freed the insurance policies from the burdens of the assignment as collateral, and it also freed the proceeds thereof from the encumbrance to which they had been subjected by Perry. Margaret then elected to receive the entire $26,050.99 of proceeds as annuities during her life.

The total amount so expended by Margaret in paying off the notes and interest was $17,475.64, consisting of $17,019.88 for principal and $455.76 for interest. The balance of the accrued interest on the notes, $36.73, was paid by means of the funds in Perry’s bank account at the time of his death. Margaret also used her own personal assets to pay the expenses of Perry’s last illness and burial, which payments were also made prior to July 31,1959. There were no other administration expenses or expenses of any nature, connected with closing the estate.

Margaret retained Perry’s personal effects. However, in an instrument drafted by her son (the petitioner herein) in August 1959, which he thereupon transmitted to Margaret for her signature, which she orally assented to by telephone at some date between January 1 and February 20, 1960, and which she thereafter signed and returned to petitioner on October 10, 1960 — Margaret, acting both individually and as executrix of Perry’s estate, “sold, assigned, transferred and set over” to the present petitioner, “all of my rights, title and interest in and to the property (other than personal effects) and claims against others (including U.S. Income Tax refund claims) of Perry A. Slette-land, deceased, bequeathed to me as sole beneficiary under his Last Will and Testament.” This instrument also contained, inter aim, the following provisions:

[i]n consideration of the legal and other services of Greggar P. Sletteland, including tax accounting, and other related services, of an estimated value of not less than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), heretofore performed and to be performed during the remainder of 1959, in connection with the following:
interim management and dissolution of Slatausin Syndicate, a partnership in which Margaret T. Sletteland was the principal partner; all matters connected with the Estate of Perry A. Sletteland, deceased; and all matters connected with management of the investments of Margaret T. Slette-land; * * *
[Here followed the words of sale, assignment, and transfer to the petitioner, which are quoted in the last preceding paragraph of text.]

On or about May 31, 1960, a “U.S. Fiduciary Income Tax Beturn” (Form 1041) was filed for the estate of Perry A. Sletteland, deceased, by Margaret T. Sletteland, executrix. On said return, there was no gross income reported; however, there were deductions claimed for interest in the amount of $721.74 and capital losses of $17,019.88, aggregating a “taxable loss” of $17,741.62 which was marked “distributable to beneficiary.” Margaret, as executrix, attached a statement to the fiduciary return, wherein she stated that the above deductions had not been allowed as deductions from the gross estate of the decedent under the applicable Federal estate tax law, and that she waived all right to have such items allowed at any time as deductions for Federal estate tax purposes.

Petitioners, on their joint Federal income tax return for the calendar year 1960, reported as income the claims assigned by Margaret to petitioner, in the amount of $2,000 (their then estimated value), as professional income of petitioner. On said return, petitioner deducted $17,512 as “Excess deductions for termination year of the Estate of Perry A. Sletteland taken as beneficiary succeeding to the property of said estate under Section 642 (h) of the Internal Bevenue Code.” No other income was reported on petitioners’ return for services rendered to, or on behalf of, Margaret, either as executrix or in her individual capacity.

The respondent, in his statutory notice of deficiency herein, determined that the claimed deduction of $17,512 was not allowable; and he explained his disallowance as follows:

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386 F. Supp. 424 (C.D. California, 1974)
Mueller v. Commissioner
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1972 T.C. Memo. 234 (U.S. Tax Court, 1972)
Sletteland v. Commissioner
43 T.C. 602 (U.S. Tax Court, 1965)

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Bluebook (online)
43 T.C. 602, 1965 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 132, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sletteland-v-commissioner-tax-1965.