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we find that, pursuant to Nebraska law, petitioner has not shown
that the gifts made after decedent's death were complete on the
date of decedent’s death.
As to petitioner's argument that gifts authorized by the
order were completed when decedent's guardian-conservator
conveyed the real estate to C. Ronald Lambert and Charlotte
Lambert, we disagree. Neb. Rev. Stat. sec. 30-2646 (Reissue
1995) provides “In the exercise of his powers, a conservator is
to act as a fiduciary and shall observe the standards of care
applicable to trustees as described by section 30-2813".4
Acknowledging that the Nebraska Supreme Court has not addressed
the specific situation presented in the instant case, petitioner
relies on White v. United States, 881 F. Supp. 688 (D. Mass.
1995). In that case, a grantor created a trust which provided
for distributions to the beneficiaries immediately after the
first day of each successive year. See id. at 690. The trustees
failed to make the required distributions for a number of years
prior to the grantor’s death (missed distributions). See id.
4 Neb. Rev. Stat. sec. 30-2813 (Reissue 1995) in turn
provides:
Except as otherwise provided by the terms of the trust,
the trustee shall observe the standards in dealing with
the trust assets that would be observed by a prudent
man dealing with the property of another, and if the
trustee has special skills, or is named trustee on the
basis of representations of special skills or
expertise, he is under a duty to use those skills.
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