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stepped-up basis of $600,000. Specifically, it is petitioners'
argument that the trust's corpus, including Oak Den, became
property of Mrs. Ogden's gross estate upon her death, and that in
becoming part of said gross estate obtained a stepped-up basis by
operation of section 1014. In support of their contention,
petitioners advance two arguments. With respect to their first
argument, petitioners point to a provision contained in Mr.
Ogden's will and contend that the language of such provision
served to transfer the trust's corpus to Mrs. Ogden's estate on
the date of her death.9 They explain that subparagraph (d) of
the FIFTH paragraph of Mr. Ogden's will provides:
Upon the death of my wife,[], the remaining principal
or corpus of the said trust shall be distributed as my
wife shall direct in her will * * *
Petitioners then explain that Mrs. Ogden's will effectively
distributed the property formerly contained in the trust to the
beneficiaries of her estate. As support for this explanation,
petitioners point to language contained in the FOURTH paragraph
of Mrs. Ogden's will. Such paragraph provides:
All the rest, residue and remainder of my property,
both real and personal, of whatsoever nature and
wheresoever situate of which I may die seized or to
which I may be entitled, or over which at the time of
9In advancing this argument, petitioners maintain that Mr.
Ogden's will contains certain errors that the Court must adjust
before it can analyze properly the interrelationship between Mr.
and Mrs. Ogden's wills. Even if this were the appropriate forum
for petitioners to contest aspects of Mr. Ogden's will, which it
is not, petitioners' argument is seriously flawed and must be
rejected.
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Last modified: May 25, 2011