It is difficult to value fractional interests in art because there is virtually no market in those interests. Nevertheless, the Tax Court in Estate of Elkins valued the decedent's fractional interests in multiple artworks, which the decedent and his children highly cherished. First, the court...

In Sommers, ruling on both parties' motions for partial summary judgment, the Tax Court dealt with claims of issue preclusion and collateral estoppel, equitable apportionment, the completion of gifts of limited liability company interests, and retained powers that would cause estate tax...

In Wimmer, the Tax Court held that the income stream from a taxpayer's gifts of family limited partnership interests was eligible for the annual exclusion. By comparing the income interest in the partnership's dividend paying marketable securities to the income interest in a trust, the court...

This article reviews Kaufman and the Tax Court's reconsideration of its summary judgment decision that rejected the taxpayers' deduction for a facade easement charitable deduction. The issues newly considered are the deductibility of the taxpayers' required cash payments to the charity in...

In Graev v. Commissioner, the Tax Court decided whether the taxpayers' donations of a facade easement and cash contributions were conditional gifts and therefore disallowable as charitable deductions under the requirements of the regulations. The court reviewed the facts to determine whether the...

Miller is a decision on family limited partnerships (FLPs) with effective line drawing. The case is particularly helpful to distinguish the types of investment activities that constitute an acceptable nontax purpose under the Bongard criteria. The opinion further provides some guidelines on the...

In Buder, in a refund action by the widow's estate for overpayment plus interest owing to its erroneous inclusion of a purported QTIP trust, the Eighth Circuit, affirming the district court, agreed that the government was entitled to the defense of equitable recoupment for unpaid estate taxes in...