- 45 - him. Alice Berger was awarded Woodbine; she alone reaped the benefits of ownership from March 14 until November 17, 1989. Among the eight factors under State law recited by Grodt & McKay Realty, Inc. v. Commissioner, supra, only factor (1), legal title (and that only to the extent of one-half ownership of the real property), clearly remained with Howard Berger in the period between March 1 and June 23, 1989. We have just seen that for purposes of factor (8), Alice Berger was the party receiving profits from the operation and sale of the property during that period. In addition, the terms of the settlement agreement rendered the transfer of full ownership to Alice Berger legally enforceable, for purposes of factor (4); gave her the right of possession, for purposes of factor (5); probably transferred to her the risk of loss, for purposes of factor (7); and left her with the obligation to pay property taxes, for purposes of factor (6). The terms of the settlement agreement also manifested the intent of the parties to complete the transfer, for purposes of factor (2), which was done in due course.12 This leaves only the acquisition of an equity in the property, factor (3), 12Alice Berger tries to make something of the fact that the transfer documents of June 23 and Nov. 17, 1989, were nothing more than conveyances of real property. She argues that she never received and never transferred the Woodbine business, including the bank accounts and receivables, and so she should not be taxed on the income of the business, nor treated as having sold these assets. We are satisfied, however, on the basis of the entire record, that she had the benefits and burdens of ownership of the business during the period Mar. 14-Nov. 17, 1989, as evidenced by the substantial draw payments she received during this period, and that the $680,000 price she received was based on the Woodbine assets and business in their entirety.Page: Previous 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 Next
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