Estate of Theodore J. Chamberlain - Page 25




                                       - 25 -                                         

          1989-675).  Decedent had not yet been appointed personal                    
          representative of Mrs. Chamberlain's estate when he prepared                
          Exhibit 5-E.  Although decedent was the personal representative             
          of Mrs. Chamberlain's estate when he signed the Probate                     
          Inventory, as discussed supra, the Probate Inventory could have             
          no operative effect as a disclaimer by decedent in his own right,           
          inasmuch as he signed it in a fiduciary capacity.                           
          II. State Law Compliance                                                    
               Prior to enactment of section 2518 by the Tax Reform Act of            
          1976, Pub. L. 94-455, sec. 2009(b)(1), 90 Stat. 1893, the tax               
          consequences of an effective disclaimer were prescribed under               
          several Code sections.6  These sections did not provide                     
          definitive rules as to what constituted a disclaimer for Federal            
          estate, gift, or generation skipping transfer tax purposes                  
          ("Federal transfer taxes"); they relied in part on local law to             
          determine whether a valid disclaimer had been made.  See Fuller             
          v. Commissioner, 37 T.C. 147 (1961).  As a result, the Federal              
          tax consequences of a disclaimer could depend on its treatment              
          under local law and on the type of transfer tax being imposed.              
          See H. Rept. 94-1380, supra at 66.  Congress enacted section 2518           


               6 See, e.g., secs. 2041(a)(2), 2514(b) (disclaimers of                 
          general powers of appointment); secs. 2055(a) and 2056(d) (estate           
          tax charitable and marital deduction provisions); sec. 25.2511-             
          1(c), Gift Tax Regs. (disclaimer must comply with local law in              
          order to be valid for gift tax purposes).                                   




Page:  Previous  15  16  17  18  19  20  21  22  23  24  25  26  27  28  29  30  31  32  33  34  Next

Last modified: May 25, 2011