- 19 - amount, if any, of the excess of the value of the shares of common stock that decedents surrendered in the Recapitalization of August 24, 1981, over the value of the shares of preferred stock that they received in the exchange. The amount of any such excess, by augmenting the value of Robert's common stock in FIC, would be a taxable gift from decedents to Robert. See Estate of Trenchard v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1995-121 supplemented by T.C. Memo. 1995-232; sec. 25.2511-1(h)(1), Gift Tax Regs. Valuation is a question of fact, and the trier of fact must weigh all relevant evidence to draw the appropriate inferences. Commissioner v. Scottish Am. Inv. Co., 323 U.S. 119, 123-125 (1944); Helvering v. National Grocery Co., 304 U.S. 282, 294-295 (1938); Anderson v. Commissioner, 250 F.2d 242, 249 (5th Cir. 1957), affg. in part and remanding in part T.C. Memo. 1956-178; Estate of Newhouse v. Commissioner, 94 T.C. 193, 217 (1990); Skripak v. Commissioner, 84 T.C. 285, 320 (1985). Fair market value is defined for Federal estate and gift tax purposes as the price that a willing buyer would pay a willing seller, both having reasonable knowledge of all the relevant facts and neither being under compulsion to buy or to sell. United States v. Cartwright, 411 U.S. 546, 551 (1973) (citing sec. 20.2031-1(b), Estate Tax Regs.); see also Snyder v. Commissioner, 93 T.C. 529, 539 (1989); Estate of Hall v. Commissioner, 92 T.C. 312, 335 (1989). The willing buyer and the willing seller are hypothetical persons, rather than specificPage: Previous 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Next
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