8
under section 2040. The conveyance to decedent's spouse and
decedent in 1974 was to place title in decedent and her spouse by
the entireties; each one of them thereafter owned the property,
per tout et non per my, under the amiable fiction of the common
law that husband and wife are one; each one owned the entire
interest in the property, not just a life estate; and had either
of them died while the tenancy continued, the survivor would have
become the sole owner. Alexander v. Alexander, 154 Or. 317, 58
P.2d 1265 (1936); Heffner v. White, 113 Ind. Ct. App. 296, 45
N.E.2d 342 (1942).
Petitioner next argues that the value of the whole estate
should have been included in the estate of decedent's spouse,
pursuant to section 2035, because the transfer was made within 3
years of decedent's death. As was discussed earlier, the tenancy
by the entireties was created in 1974; the gift to decedent's
children was in 1986; and the latter gift was not includable in
the gross estate of decedent's spouse under section 2035. See
section 2035(d).
Petitioner finally argues that pursuant to Virginia law, the
gift of the remainder to the four grandchildren qualified for a
$10,000 exemption each under section 2503(b) because the rights
in the grandchildren were vested, albeit subject to divestment.
as we have often had occasion to point out, the revenue
laws are to be construed in the light of their general
purpose to establish a nationwide scheme of taxation
uniform in its application. Hence their provisions are
not to be taken as subject to state control or
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