- 12 - discussed above. Moreover, there is no provision in the will for imposition of estate tax on the trust portion of the residuary to the exclusion of the marital portion of the residuary. Instead, decedent specifies that estate tax be paid generally out of the residuary "without apportionment". Under petitioner's reasoning, decedent could have also intended that Mr. Miller's share of the residuary bear the entire estate tax burden. In essence, petitioner asks this Court either to eliminate article II (pay estate taxes out of residuary), to rewrite it to provide that "all estate tax shall be paid from the trust portion of the residue of my estate", or to redefine the word "residuary". Petitioner disavows any intent to eliminate altogether the Federal estate tax on the estate. Petitioner's position is: It was not the Testatrix's intent to eliminate the estate taxes from her Estate through the use of the unlimited marital deduction. Instead, her intent was to fully provide for her husband's needs by giving him fifty percent (50%) of her gross estate. * * * Her goal was never to eliminate estate tax, instead it was to maximize the benefits and the property passing to her surviving spouse. Petitioner relies on the testimony of Smith, the draftsman of the will and trust, in this regard. (Although respondent objected to Smith's testimony on the ground that extrinsic evidence of intent is inadmissible, respondent's brief proposed a finding and based an argument on Smith's testimony. We hold that respondent's objection was thus waived.)Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Next
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