Cohen v. Raymond, 128 A.3d 1072 (N.H. 2016) Cohen got along famously with his son-in-law Raymond, who went to work in his father-in-law’s scrap metal company. Raymond became one of Cohen’s most valuable assistants. In 2006, Cohen sold the company. He and Raymond each received three-year employment contracts. However, they were not very happy working…
Tag: Cases and Rulings
Extension granted for proving that a surviving spouse has become a U.S. citizen.
Private Letter Ruling 201628011 Decedent’s surviving spouse was not a U.S. citizen, so to secure the marital deduction from the federal estate tax his will created a Qualified Domestic Trust (QDOT) for her lifetime benefit. Some time later, the surviving spouse became a U.S. citizen, but she didn’t mention this development to the QDOT trustee.…
Paying state death taxes before paying the IRS does not render an executor personally liable for estate taxes, provided the estate is not insolvent.
Singer v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2016-48 At the time of his death, Melvin Sacks was legally married to Alvia Sacks but had been estranged from her for 25 years. His “longtime companion” was Lucille Atwell, with whom he jointly owned a brokerage account worth some $2 million. Atwell was the beneficiary of Sacks’ life insurance…
Settlement of gift tax dispute does not waive interest due on unpaid taxes.
Estate of Anthony La Sala v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2016-42 When he was 93, Anthony La Sala created ALS Family LLC to own and manage his wealth. He sold a 99% interest in the company to his daughter when he was 95 for a lifetime annuity of $913,986. In the exchange, the retained 1% was…
Failure to report a taxable gift does not create a cascade of problems in subsequent gift tax re-turns.
ECC 201614036 Taxpayer made a substantial taxable gift in Year 1, but never filed a gift tax return. The IRS can assess a gift tax at any time, in any subsequent year, because the statute of limitations never begins to run. Sumner Redstone recently learned this lesson the hard way, when he had to pay…
Penciled changes to a photocopy of a will, including “void,” does not revoke it.
In re Estate of Sullivan, 868 N.W.2d 750 (Minn. Ct. App. 2015) Esther Sullivan executed her will in January 2006. The will was properly notarized and had the required two witnesses. Esther divided her estate between her grandson, Joseph, a former employee, Tara Jean. The nature of the employment was not disclosed by the court,…
Unexpectedly strong post-death auction sale raises date-of-death death value.
Estate of Newberger v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2015-2464 Bernice Newberger died in July 2009. Her estate included three valuable pieces of art, for which it obtained appraisals from Sotheby’s and Christie’s. The valuation was complicated by the fact that the market for fine art took a steep dive in 2008, as the economy slipped into…