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doctrine, distinguishing those checks from the charitable
contributions made in Estate of Belcher v. Commissioner, supra,
and Estate of Spiegel v. Commissioner, supra, stating:
Our decision in Estate of Belcher was based on the
special characteristics of charitable contributions,
including the possibility that the estate would receive
an offsetting deduction under section 2055 if the funds
represented by the checks were included in the gross
estate (83 T.C. at 236-238) and, more importantly, our
prior decision in Estate of Spiegel v. Commissioner, 12
T.C. 524 (1949), involving the deductibility of
charitable contributions for income tax purposes. In
Estate of Spiegel we held that charitable contributions
made by check were deductible in the year the check was
issued rather than the year paid. Not following this
case in Estate of Belcher would have led to the result
that payments that had been deducted for income tax
purposes were still includable in the gross estate.
These bases of decision are not present in the
noncharitable gift situation--gifts are not deductible
for income tax purposes and, if made after death, do
not reduce the gross estate for estate tax purposes.
Thus, the reasoning of Estate of Belcher does not
warrant extension of the relation-back doctrine to
noncharitable gifts. * * * [Estate of Gagliardi v.
Commissioner, supra at 1212.]
The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit also declined
to extend the relation-back doctrine under similar circumstances.
McCarthy v. United States, 806 F.2d 129 (7th Cir. 1986). In
McCarthy v. United States, supra, prior to the donor's death, she
maintained a joint checking account with her son. The donor's
son wrote several checks which were intended as gifts to various
relatives. Although these checks were delivered or mailed prior
to the donor's death, they were not cashed until after that time.
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