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at the precise moment of death. "Therefore", said the Court, "we
are instructed to determine the value at the moment of death of
the 600 shares of HFA stock and the 100 shares of Ahmanco stock.
In doing so we must take into account any transformations of the
property that are logically prior to its distribution to the
beneficiaries." Id. (citation omitted).
Unlike the situation in Ahmanson, we are not called upon to
consider the effect of any plan of postdeath distribution of
decedent's corporate stock in the case before us. We are
nevertheless required to determine the consequences of the
valuation change that occurred at the moment of death. The Court
in Ahmanson states that it is "undisputed" that value is to be
determined at the moment of death, citing as settled law an
analogous holding in United States v. Land, 303 F.2d 170, 171-175
(5th Cir. 1962).
In the Land case, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
held that the fair market value of a partnership interest at the
death of a partner was its full value in a situation where the
partnership agreement provided that if any member wished to
withdraw from the partnership during his lifetime, another
partner would have the option of purchasing the withdrawing
partner's interest at two-thirds of its calculated value. But,
at the death of a partner a surviving partner would be entitled
to purchase the decedent's interest at its full value.
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