- 5 -
that they were a little late in the filing, and that they took
care of it, and that they would file it a little later.”
Mr. Ledley also testified at the trial of the case. In
part, he testified as follows: It was his duty to prepare the
estate tax return for Messrs. Roisen and Helman. He began that
preparation after being retained in 2000. In late September or
early October of 2000, he advised Messrs. Roisen and Helman to
suspend their administration of the estate. He did so because he
had received correspondence from Europe that, if Messrs. Roisen
and Helman meddled in the estate, it would be at their own risk.
He advised them to not then file an estate tax return. He,
himself, suspended preparation of the estate tax return. He
returned to preparation of the estate tax return either in late
January or early February of 2001, since it was taking a long
time for the heirs under the German will to take over the New
York proceeding.
Discussion
I. Statutory Scheme
Section 2001(a) imposes an estate tax, and section 6018
imposes on the executor the obligation to make the necessary
return of tax. The term “executor” is defined in section 2203,
and the parties agree that (1) Messrs. Roisen and Helman were
executors within the meaning of those sections, and (2) they, and
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Next
Last modified: November 10, 2007