9th Circuit Upholds Tax Court in Estate of Erma V. Jorgensen et al. v. Commissioner

In a recent unpublished opinion, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the Tax Court's holding in Estate of Erma V. Jorgensen et al. v. Commissioner. In Estate of Erma, the Tax Court held that amounts transferred to a pair of family partnerships should be included in the decedent's taxable estate. According the Court of Appeals, the Tax Court did not err in concluding that the transfer was not a bona fide sale for adequate and full consideration, that an implied agreement gave decedent access to any amount of the transfered assets, and that the decedent did in fact write over $ 90,000 in checks on the accounts post-transfer. See, NINTH CIRCUIT UPHOLDS TAX COURT ON ESTATE'S INCLUSION OF TRANSFERS TO PARTNERSHIPS, 2011 TNT 87-10.

Posted by Isaac Pflaum, Associate Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal.