Tips From the Pros: Includible and Deductible Amounts Not Always the SameTips From the Pros: Includible and Deductible Amounts Not Always the Same

Ordinarily, in a case in which an asset is passing at a decedent’s death in a disposition qualifying for the marital or the charitable deduction, that asset’s value for purposes of arriving at the total gross estate value is the same as its value for purposes of determining the amount of the marital or charitable deduction. The U.S. Tax Court recently decided a case, however, that serves as a stark reminder that this seemingly appropriate proposition, while symmetrical, isn’t always true. 

Alleged Gift/ Estate Tax Deficiencies

In Estate of Warne v. Commissioner,¹ Miriam Warne owned, in what was obviously a revocable trust but was called a “Family Trust,” controlling, majority interests in five limited liability companies (LLCs). Miriam own...