-46- It is incontrovertible that decedent received the $100,000 from the JKH Trust. Thus, the issue before this Court is whether, under State law, the trust's claim is an enforceable, personal obligation of decedent that was contracted bona fide. Under the law of the State of Georgia, whenever one person, by contract or law, is liable and bound to pay another an amount of money, certain or uncertain, the relation of debtor and creditor exists between them. Ga. Ann. Code sec. 18-2-1 (1988). To constitute a valid contract, there must be parties able to contract, a consideration moving to the contract, the assent of the parties to the terms of the contract, and a subject matter upon which the contract can operate. Ga. Ann. Code sec. 13-3-1 (1982); Associated Muts. v. Pope Lumber Co., 37 S.E.2d 393, 396 (Ga. 1946). Until each party has assented to all the terms, there is no binding contract. Ga. Ann. Code sec. 13-3-2 (1982). The essence of mutual assent is the meeting of the minds of the parties. Taylor Lumber Co. v. Clark Lumber Co., 127 S.E. 905, 906 (Ga. Ct. App. 1925). Both parties must concur in all terms of the proposed contract, agreeing to the same thing in the same sense. Associated Muts. v. Pope Lumber Co., supra at 398. A transfer of money is a loan for Federal income tax purposes if, at the time the funds were transferred, the transferee unconditionally intended to repay the money, and the transferor unconditionally intended to secure repayment. Haag v. Commissioner, 88 T.C. 604, 616 (1987), affd. without publishedPage: Previous 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 Next
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