Paul L. Blanton and Cynthia D. Blue-Blanton - Page 14

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          ownership before title passed, they would not prevail here even             
          if we gave little weight to the date of title passage.                      
               Petitioners rely on Merrill v. Commissioner, 40 T.C. 66, 74            
          (1963), affd. per curiam 336 F.2d 771 (9th Cir. 1964), for the              
          proposition that intent to transfer title is particularly                   
          important if transfer of title is delayed by circumstances beyond           
          the control of the buyer and seller.  In Merrill v. Commissioner,           
          supra, we held that a sale was completed even though title to the           
          property could not pass until several months later, a title                 
          insurance policy had not been issued, and the balance of the                
          purchase price was to be paid at a future date.  Id. at 74-77.              
               Petitioners' reliance on Merrill is misplaced.  We stated in           
          Merrill that the intent of the parties as to when the benefits              
          and burdens of ownership of the property are to be transferred              
          will control where passage of title is delayed to secure payment            
          of the purchase price or for an escrow arrangement.  Id. at 74.             
          The buyer in Merrill had assumed almost all the benefits and                
          burdens of ownership.  However, we are not convinced that the               
          parties to the transaction at issue intended the benefits and               
          burdens to pass to petitioners before title passed, and as                  
          discussed above, petitioners did not have the benefits and                  
          burdens of ownership before title passed to them.                           


               3.   Petitioners' 1992 Tax Return                                      
               Petitioners checked the box on their 1992 income tax return            
          indicating that they had not owned and used the Spokane property            



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