1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 50">*50
Decedent possessed an inter vivos power of appointment over property held in trust; said property was includable in her gross estate under
74 T.C. 1439">*1440 OPINION
Respondent determined a deficiency in the Federal estate tax of the Estate of Nancy F. Crafts, deceased, William A. Dicus, personal representative1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 50">*59 (the estate), in the amount of $ 64,419.
Concessions having been made, the issues for decision are: (1) Whether a split-interest charitable remainder trust established by the will of decedent's husband and includable in the estate by virtue of decedent's general power of appointment is subject to the provisions of section 2055(e); 1 (2) if section 2055(e) is applicable, whether a postmortem division of the trust property can qualify under section 2055(e)(3) or as a disclaimer under section 2055(a) so that the estate is entitled to a charitable deduction; and (3) whether the estate is entitled to an award for attorney's fees and costs.
All of the facts in this case have been stipulated and are found accordingly. The stipulation and the attached exhibits are incorporated herein by reference.
At the time the petition in this case was filed, William A. 1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 50">*60 Dicus resided in Dunedin, Fla. A timely estate tax return was filed on behalf of the estate on January 27, 1977.
Nancy F. Crafts, the decedent, died testate on October 29, 1975. The decedent had executed her will on June 15, 1973, with 74 T.C. 1439">*1441 a first codicil executed October 15, 1975. The will, as amended by the codicil, was duly admitted to probate in the Circuit Court for Pinellas County, Fla., probate division.
Decedent was the widow of John Osborn Crafts (Mr. Crafts), who died testate on March 10, 1969.
Mr. Crafts' will was executed on October 13, 1965, and was not republished by codicil or otherwise subsequent to that date. This will was duly admitted to probate in the County Judge's Court, Pinellas County, Fla.
Mr. Crafts' will created a testamentary trust of which decedent was named the life income beneficiary. The Toledo Trust Co. was named the sole trustee. In addition, the will vested in the decedent an inter vivos general power of appointment over the trust property, via an unrestricted power to invade trust corpus for decedent's own benefit. The relevant provision of Mr. Crafts' will on this point reads as follows: "My Trustee shall, from time to time, during1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 50">*61 the lifetime of my said wife, pay or distribute such part or all of the principal of said trust property to her as she may request in writing." Mr. Crafts' will provided for certain small gifts to be paid out of the trust corpus upon the decedent's death. The residue remained in trust subject to the following conditions: Mr. Crafts' brother, Osborn Crafts, was to receive $ 300 annually from trust income for the duration of his life; 2 40 percent of the remaining trust income was to be paid to the Webb Institute of Naval Architecture (Webb Institute), with the 60-percent balance payable to certain noncharitable beneficiaries, all of whom were Mr. Crafts' relatives; upon the death of the last to die of the individual income beneficiaries, 75 percent of the trust corpus was to be paid to the Webb Institute and 25 percent to Leicester Junior College.
1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 50">*62 Both the Webb Institute and Leicester Junior College are organizations described in section 2055(a) and were such organizations at the time of decedent's death.
After the decedent's death, the personal representative of her estate requested a determination from the Internal Revenue Service as to whether a charitable deduction was allowable for 74 T.C. 1439">*1442 the value of the remainder interest passing to the charitable beneficiaries. By a letter ruling dated September 28, 1976, the Revenue Service determined that the estate was precluded from taking a charitable contribution deduction under section 2055(a) with respect to the remainder interest transferred to the Webb Institute and Leicester Junior College as the requirements of section 2055(e)(2) were not satisfied.
The personal representative subsequently requested a determination from respondent as to whether Mr. Crafts' trust could be amended to comply with the requirements of section 2055(e). In a letter ruling dated November 26, 1976, respondent determined that the trust could not be amended under section 2055(e)(3). Respondent additionally ruled that the trust did not come within the savings clauses set forth in section 20.2055-2(e), 1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 50">*63 Estate Tax Regs.
The provisions of the trust created by Mr. Crafts' will gave the trustee broad discretionary powers to administer the trust property, including the power "to do all acts and things which it, in the exercise of its judgment and discretion, may deem needful, desirable and expedient for the proper and advantageous management of the trust property, to the same extent and with like effect as might be done in the exercise of ordinary prudence by an individual in absolute ownership and control of the property." Among other things, Mr. Crafts' will vested in the trustee the power "to make physical division of the trust property, and hold and administer each separate share for the benefit of the beneficiaries thereof."
Pursuant to the above-mentioned powers, in January 1977, the trustee exercised its discretionary authority to effect a physical division of the trust property. As a consequence of the division, 40 percent of the trust property was set aside exclusively for the benefit of the Webb Institute, and the remaining 60 percent was set aside to provide life estates for the trust's individual beneficiaries, with the remainder to the charities.
On the estate tax return,1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 50">*64 the full value of the trust property, $ 440,739.45, was included in decedent's gross estate under "Schedule H-Powers of Appointment." On "Schedule N-Charitable, Public and Similar Gifts and Bequests" the estate listed a $ 173,371.32 bequest to the Webb Institute. This figure was intended to represent the portion of the trust set aside exclusively 74 T.C. 1439">*1443 for the Webb Institute and was arrived at by computing 40 percent of the net value of trust.
There is no dispute that the full value of the trust established by Mr. Crafts' will is includable in the decedent's gross estate under
1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 50">*65 Bequests to or for the use of entities described in section 2055(a) are generally deductible from the gross estate. Pursuant to section 2055(b)(1), the interests in Mr. Crafts' trust which passed to the Webb Institute and Leicester Junior College are, for purposes of section 2055, considered to be a bequest of the decedent. Nonetheless, it is evident that the bequests which were deemed to be made by the decedent constituted interests in a "split-interest" trust since both charitable and noncharitable beneficiaries had interests in the trust originally established by Mr. Crafts' will. Thus it is apparent that, but for petitioner's argument that section 2055(e) 4 is inapplicable (discussed
1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 50">*66 Generally, section 2055(e) provides that where successive interests in the same property pass to both charitable and noncharitable beneficiaries, no charitable deduction is allowed under section 2055(a) unless the form requirements specified in subsection (e)(2)(A) or (B) are satisfied. There is no issue as to whether the original trust terms satisfied the requirements of section 2055(e)(2) since the parties have stipulated that Mr. Crafts' trust is not a charitable remainder annuity trust, a charitable remainder unitrust, or a pooled income fund; additionally, the parties agree that the Webb Institute's income interest is not a guaranteed annuity or a fixed percentage, distributed yearly, of the fair market value of the property.
Not surprisingly, the estate's first argument is that section 2055(e) is inapplicable, and in so arguing, the estate requests us to reconsider our holding in
(4) (A) * * *
(B) Such amendments [to section 2055(e)] shall not apply in the case of property passing under the terms of a will executed on or before October 9, 1969 --
(i) * * *
(ii) if the decedent at no time after October 9, 1969, had the right to change the portions of the will which pertain to the passing of the property to, or for the use of, an organization described in Section 2055(a), or
(iii) * * *
(C) Such amendments shall not apply in the case of property transferred in trust on or before October 9, 1969 --
(i) * * *
(ii) if the property transferred was an irrevocable interest to, or for the use of, an organization described in Section 2055(a), or
(iii) * * *
It is readily apparent that the thrust of the above provisions is to render inapplicable the more restrictive provisions of section 2055(e) to irrevocable trusts created before October 10, 1969, or property irrevocably transferred in trust prior to such date. The estate argues that the charitable interests1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 50">*68 in the trust property passed under the terms of Mr. Crafts' will, which, as stated above, was executed on October 13, 1965 (Mr. Crafts died on March 10, 1969, thus prior to October 10, 1969). As a consequence, petitioner views section 201(g)(4)(B)(ii) of the TRA as rendering section 2055(e) inapplicable because the decedent at no time had the right to change those portions of Mr. Crafts' will which pertain to the passing of the trust property to the Webb Institute and Leicester Junior College.
In
The executrix in
1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 50">*70 As in
While the absence of a testamentary power of appointment may have deprived the decedent of the express right to change her deceased husband's will, the inter vivos power vested in the decedent accomplished the same result. Accordingly, under
1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 50">*71 74 T.C. 1439">*1447 It is also apparent that section 201(g)(4)(
1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 50">*72 Given that section 2055(e)
Section 2055(e)(3) 8 is a relief provision which authorizes a charitable estate tax deduction for transfers which would otherwise not be eligible for a deduction because of section 2055(e). In the estate's view, the following language of section 2055(e)(3) authorizes a deduction for the 40-percent portion:
If, by the due date for the filing of an estate tax return (including any extension thereof), the interest is in a charitable trust which, upon allowance of a deduction, would be1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 50">*73 described in section 4947(a)(1), or the interest passes directly to a person or for a use described in subsection (a), a deduction shall be allowed as if the governing instrument was amended or conformed under this paragraph.
74 T.C. 1439">*1448 The estate argues that the trustee's division resulted in the creation of a trust which, upon the allowance of a deduction, would be described in section 4947(a)(1) 91980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 50">*74 since only the Webb Institute has the unexpired interests therein. Because the division occurred in January 1977, which was within the period for filing a timely estate tax return, 10 the estate concludes that a deduction is allowable under section 2055(e)(3).
As an initial matter, respondent insists that section 2055(e)(3) does not authorize the postmortem division sought here for the reason that that subsection is inapplicable to trusts created prior to July 31, 1969. Although the statute is not limited to inter vivos trusts created or wills executed
74 T.C. 1439">*1449 We now return to the estate's contention that the interests for which a charitable deduction were claimed (the Webb Institute's income and remainder interests in the 40-percent portion) 111980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 50">*76 were in a charitable trust which, upon the allowance of a deduction, would be described in section 4947(a)(1). Respondent failed to address the legal question of whether the trustee's division resulted in the creation of a second wholly charitable trust. Respondent's failure to challenge petitioner's position aside, we believe the trustee's division created a second trust, at least for purposes of sections 2055(e)(3) and 4947(a)(1). 12
1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 50">*77 Hitherto, we have noted that Mr. Crafts' will authorized the trustee:
to do all acts and things which it, in the exercise of its judgment and discretion, may deem needful, desirable or expedient for the proper and advantageous management of the trust property, to the same extent and with like effect as might be done in the exercise of ordinary prudence by an individual in absolute ownership and control of the property at any time comprising the trust property hereunder.
The trustee also possessed the specific authority "to make physical division of the trust property, and hold and administer each separate share for the benefit of the beneficiaries thereof." It is apparent that, as to the 40-percent portion of the trust, the division resulted in an arrangement whereby the trustee held legal title to the property in order to protect and conserve it solely for the Webb Institute's benefit.
74 T.C. 1439">*1450 While there may be substantial doubt that the testamentary power to make physical division of the trust assets among separate shares would be sufficient to create separate trusts under other provisions of the Code, regulations, or perhaps State law (see, for example,
(iii)
(A) an amount held in trust which is devoted exclusively to noncharitable income and remainder interests is segregated from
(B) an amount held in trust which is devoted exclusively to charitable income and remainder interests, then for purposes of this section the amount described in paragraph (c)(3)(iii)(B) of this section will be treated as a charitable trust which is subject to the provisions of section 4947(a)(1).
The 40-percent portion of the trust is "segregated from amounts for which no deduction was allowable [the 60-percent portion]" (sec. 4947(a)(2)(B)) and is devoted exclusively to charitable income and remainder interests, since the Webb Institute is both the sole income beneficiary1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 50">*79 and the sole remainderman. We accordingly conclude that this amount is to be treated as a separate trust for purposes of applying sections 4947(a)(1) and 2055(e)(3).
Since the share which we shall hereinafter for convenience call the "Webb Institute trust" was in existence by the due date of the estate tax return, the next consideration is whether that trust was a wholly charitable trust which, upon the allowance of a deduction, would be described in section 4947(a)(1). For purposes of section 2055(e)(3), a trust is described in section 4947(a)(1) if the following two requirements are satisfied: (1) It is not exempt from taxation under section 501(a); and (2) all of its unexpired interests are devoted to one or more of the purposes described in section 170(c)(2)(B). 131980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 50">*80 There is, of course, 74 T.C. 1439">*1451 no evidence that the Webb Institute trust has received a favorable ruling as to its income tax-exempt status; nor is there, of course, any evidence concerning an application for income tax exemption. As a result, the trust is not exempt from taxation under section 501(a). See sec. 53.4947-1(b)(1)(ii), example (
Moreover, since the Webb Institute is an organization described in section 170(c)(2)(B), IRS Pub. No. 78, all of the trust's unexpired interests are devoted to section 170(c)(2)(B) purposes. The Webb Institute trust thus satisfied the pertinent requirements of section 4947(a)(1) by the due date of the estate tax return.
On the basis of the foregoing analysis, it would appear that the estate has made a prima facie case for claiming a deduction under section 2055(e)(3) for the 40-percent portion. Respondent, however, argues that the
1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 50">*84 We consider respondent's argument inapposite, particularly his reliance on regulations
Respondent has also cited the following language contained in S. Rept. 93-1063, 93d Cong., 2d Sess. (1974),
In addition, in any case where the trust1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 50">*85 has become a wholly charitable trust before the due date for filing the estate tax return, no actual amendment of the governing instrument is to be necessary. Thus, if the noncharitable interest in the trust is terminated by the decedent's death and there are no remaining noncharitable interests, a deduction is to be allowed as if the governing instrument had been amended to conform to the charitable remainder trust requirements.
We think the real import of the congressional concern, as carried out in the Commissioner's regulations, was to obviate the possibility of a postmortem revision of the testator's or grantor's intent by an amendment which would make possible the compliance with sec. 2055(e)(3). In the case before us, the testator's granted authority was simply exercised by the trustee -- the trustee, in effect, carried out Mr. Crafts' intent. Such act required no court-approved amendment because it was taken pursuant to the provisions of the will itself. Thus, the restriction against postmortem amendment in regulations
Respondent's final argument for denying petitioner a charitable deduction is premised on the theory that the Webb1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 50">*86 Institute's interest in the 40-percent portion resulted from the trustee's postmortem division and thus cannot be considered a transfer by the decedent. Essentially for reasons already stated, such a theory does not hold water.
However, respondent has cited
Respondent, on brief, has analogized the above holding1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 50">*87 to the instant situation and argues that "the acceleration of the charity's remainder interest to a present interest resulted from the independent exercise of the trustee's discretion under the provisions of Mr. Crafts' will rather than from the transfer by the decedent at the decedent's death."
Assuming, arguendo, the correctness of the legal theory supporting the above holding in
1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 50">*89 This is not a case where the allowance of a deduction would 74 T.C. 1439">*1455 frustrate the policy underlying the enactment of the requirements of section 2055(e). The primary focus of that policy was the concern that in the case of split-interest bequests, the amounts which estates had claimed as charitable deductions did not necessarily bear any relation to the amounts the charity would ultimately receive. S. Rept. 91-552 (1969),
1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 50">*90 In addition, it is evident that section 2055(e)(3) was enacted as a relief provision in order to alleviate the difficulties caused by the complex requirements of the Tax Reform Act of 1969 relating to split-interest bequests. See S. Rept. 93-1063, 93d Cong., 2d Sess. (1974),
Accordingly, we hold that by the due date for petitioner's estate tax return, the Webb Institute's 40-percent income and remainder interests were in a charitable trust described in section 4947(a)(1). Consequently, petitioner is entitled to a deduction for the amount claimed on its return. 22
1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 50">*92 Under the authority of our decision in
1. All section references are to the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as in effect at the time of the decedent's death, except as otherwise expressly indicated.↩
2. Although the parties stipulated that the $ 300 sum was payable monthly, Mr. Crafts' will states that Osborn Crafts was to receive "the sum of Three Hundred Dollars ($ 300.00) each year in quarterly installments." Regardless, Osborn Crafts was deceased at the time of decedent's death.↩
3. SEC. 2055(b) Powers of Appointment. -- (1) General rule. -- Property includible in the decedent's gross estate under
4. Sec. 2055(e) provides as follows:
(e) Disallowance of Deductions in Certain Cases. -- (1) No deduction shall be allowed under this section for a transfer to or for the use of an organization or trust described in section 508(d) or 4948(c)(4) subject to the conditions specified in such sections. (2) Where an interest in property (other than an interest described in section 170(f)(3)(B)) passes or has passed from the decedent to a person, or for a use, described in subsection (a), and an interest (other than an interest which is extinguished upon the decedent's death) in the same property passes or has passed (for less than an adequate and full consideration in money or money's worth) from the decedent to a person, or for a use, not described in subsection (a), no deduction shall be allowed under this section for the interest which passes or has passed to the person, or for the use, described in subsection (a) unless -- (A) in the case of a remainder interest, such interest is in a trust which is a charitable remainder annuity trust or a charitable remainder unitrust (described in section 664) or a pooled income fund (described in section 642(c)(5)), or (B) in the case of any other interest, such interest is in the form of a guaranteed annuity or is a fixed percentage distributed yearly of the fair market value of the property (to be determined yearly). (3) In the case of a will executed before December 31, 1977, or a trust created before such date, if a deduction is not allowable at the time of the decedent's death because of the failure of an interest in property which passes from the decedent to a person, or for a use, described in subsection (a), to meet the requirements of subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (2) of this subsection, and if the governing instrument is amended or conformed on or before December 31, 1978, or, if later, on or before the 30th day after the date on which judicial proceedings begun on or before December 31, 1978 (which are required to amend or conform the governing instrument), become final, so that interest is in a trust which meets the requirements of such subparagraph (A) or (B) (as the case may be), a deduction shall nevertheless be allowed. The Secretary may, by regulation, provide for the application of the provisions of this paragraph to trusts whose governing instruments are amended or conformed in accordance with this paragraph, and such regulations may provide for any adjustments in the application of the provisions of section 508 (relating to special rules with respect to section 501(c)(3) organizations), subchapter J (relating to estates, trusts, beneficiaries, and decedents), and chapter 42 (relating to private foundations), to such trusts made necessary by the application of this paragraph. If, by the due date for the filing of an estate tax return (including any extension thereof), the interest is in a charitable trust which, upon allowance of a deduction, would be described in section 4947(a)(1), or the interest passes directly to a person or for a use described in subsection (a), a deduction shall be allowed as if the governing instrument was amended or conformed under this paragraph. If the amendment or conformation of the governing instrument is made after the due date for the filing of the estate tax return (including any extension thereof), the deduction shall be allowed upon the filing of a timely claim for credit or refund (as provided for in section 6511) of an overpayment resulting from the application of this paragraph. In the case of a credit or refund as a result of an amendment or conformation made pursuant to this paragraph, no interest shall be allowed for the period prior to the expiration of the 180th day after the date on which the claim for credit or refund is filed.
We note that Pub. L. 94-455, sec. 1304(a) (as amended by Pub. L. 95-30, sec. 309(b)(2)) substituted "December 31, 1977," for "September 21, 1974" and "December 31, 1975" where each previously appeared in sec. 2055(e)(3).↩
5. Sec.. 2055(b) was amended by Pub. L. 94-455, sec. 1902(a)(4)(A),(c)(1), effective for estates of decedents dying after Oct. 4, 1976, to eliminate old sec. 2055(b)(2). Old sec. 2055(b)(1) is now simply sec. 2055(b).↩
6. In
7. Moreover, even if subparagraph (B)(ii) is applicable, the
8. See n. 4 for text of sec. 2055(e)(3).↩
9. SEC. 4947. APPLICATION OF TAXES TO CERTAIN NONEXEMPT TRUSTS.
(a) Application of Tax. -- (1) Charitable trusts. -- For purposes of part II of subchapter F of chapter 1 (other than section 508(a), (b), and (c)) and for purposes of this chapter, a trust which is not exempt from taxation under section 501(a), all of the unexpired interests in which are devoted to one or more of the purposes described in section 170(c)(2)(B), and for which a deduction was allowed under section 170, 545(b)(2), 556(b)(2), 642(c), 2055, 2106(a)(2), or 2522 (or the corresponding provisions of prior law), shall be treated as an organization described in section 501(c)(3). For purposes of this section 509(a)(3)(A), such a trust shall be treated as if organized on the day on which it first becomes subject to this paragraph.↩
10. The original due date for filing the return was July 29, 1976. Respondent extended this date to Oct. 29, 1976, and then to Jan. 29, 1977. Since Jan. 29, 1977, fell on a Saturday, the return was due on the following Monday, Jan. 31. Sec. 7503.↩
11. Regardless of the life expectancy of the individual by which the Webb Institute's income interest is measured, the value of the income
12. In this regard, we note that the estate bases its claim for a deduction on the fact that a separate trust for the benefit of the Webb Institute was created by the trustee's division. In
In
13. There is a third requirement enunciated in sec. 4947(a)(1), namely, that a charitable deduction must have been allowed for the trust (under the relevant Code sections). However, since that is the very issue with which sec. 2055(e)(3) is concerned, the third sentence of sec. 2055(e)(3) avoids the resulting circularity of analysis by stating that requirement as given.↩
14. A trust's description in sec. 4947(a)(1) does not automatically render it exempt under sec. 501(a), since it is treated as a sec. 501(c)(3) organization only for purposes of pt. II, subch. F, ch. 1 (excluding sec. 508(a), (b), and (c)) and ch. 42. Under sec. 508, the Commissioner must still be notified that the trust intends to apply for recognition of sec. 501(c)(3) status. In the case of a sec. 4947(a)(1) trust, the exception from this notice requirement does
15.
(h)(1) In the case of a will executed before September 21, 1974, or [an inter vivos] trust created (within the meaning of applicable local law) before such date and after July 31, 1969, that creates an interest for which a deduction would be allowable under section 2055(a) but for section 2055(e)(2)(A), if the date of death of the decedent is prior to January 1, 1976, and if on or before the filing date of the estate tax return (including any extension thereof) --
(i) The interest is in a charitable trust which, if a deduction under section 2055(a) had been allowed, would be in a trust described in section 4947(a)(1), or
(ii) Such interest passes directly to a person or for a use described in section 2055(a) (as, for example, by reason of the termination of an intervening interest), the governing instrument shall be treated as if it were amended or conformed pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section and a deduction shall be allowed. * * * A governing instrument treated as amended under this paragraph may not thereafter be amended.
16. The second sentence of sec. 2055(e)(3) provides in part:
The Secretary may, by regulation, provide for the application of the provisions of this paragraph to trusts whose governing instruments are amended or conformed in accordance with this paragraph * * *
The First Circuit in
In
17. This facet of respondent's argument focuses on the application of the "reenactment doctrine." Respondent views Congress' two extensions of the times for amending nonqualifying trusts as signifying tacit approval of the statutory interpretation expressed in the regulations. E.g.,
18. This case does not involve a situation where the fiduciary is given the
19. Compare the example given in the report of the Senate Finance Committee in which the investment of the trust corpus in high-income, high-risk assets, was viewed as enhancing the value of the private-income beneficiary's interest to the detriment of the value of the charity's remainder interest. S. Rept. 91-552, 91st Cong., 1st Sess. (1969),
20. Respondent has acknowledged that the provisions of the tax law granting exemptions to charity are liberalizations of the law which, being begotten from motives of public policy, are not to be narrowly construed.
21. Because the tax proposed in the notice of deficiency ($ 133,064) exceeds the value of the probate estate ($ 119,259.94), the denial of a deduction under sec. 2055(a) would preclude the estate from making $ 8,500 in specific bequests to the YMCA and YWCA.↩
22. As a result of this holding, we need not consider petitioner's argument that the postmortem division qualifies as a disclaimer under sec. 2055(a).↩