USDC SD Ohio Holds Estate Entitled to Refund Due to Informal Claim Doctrine

The US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, in Estate of Wilshire v. United States, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91920 (S.D. Ohio Nov. 10, 2008), held that an Estate was entitled to a refund where the Estate made an informal claim before the  statute of limitations expired, through the written and oral communications of the Executor, Philip Blomer. In addition, the court held that the Estate was entitled to an inference in its favor due to the IRS's improper purging of its file during the pendency of the Estate's administrative appeal. Finally, the Court found that the Estate perfected a formal claim for the refund of overpaid estate tax, when it filed its Form 843 Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement. As a result of the foregoing, the Court concluded that the Estate properly perfected a formal claim and, therefore, was entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

Posted by Lewis J. Saret, General Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal.