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fiduciary capacity. See sec. 7701(a)(6). A claim of the U.S.
Government must be paid first when a decedent’s estate is
insolvent. See 31 U.S.C. sec. 3713(a)(1)(B).
Pursuant to 31 U.S.C. section 3713(b), a personal
representative “paying any part of a debt of the * * * estate
before paying a claim of the Government is liable to the extent of
the payment for unpaid claims of the Government.” Accordingly, the
personal representative of an estate is personally liable for the
unpaid claims of the United States to the extent of the
distribution, if the Government establishes the following: (1) The
personal representative distributed assets of the estate; (2) the
distribution rendered the estate insolvent; and (3) the
distribution took place after the personal representative had
notice of the Government's claim. See 31 U.S.C. sec. 3713(b); see
also, e.g., United States v. Estate of Romani, 523 U.S. 517 (1998);
United States v. Coppola, 85 F.3d 1015, 1020 (2d Cir. 1996)
(executor's distribution of estate assets to family members,
rendering estate insolvent, before satisfying estate tax debt to
the United States violated 31 U.S.C. sec. 3713(b) and made the
personal representative personally liable for the taxes); United
States v. Estate of Kime, 950 F. Supp. 950, 954, 959 (D. Neb.
1996).5
5 Courts have taken an expansive view of the types of
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