- 11 - or any estate, succession, legacy, or inheritance taxes, are, either by the terms of the will, by the law of the jurisdiction under which the estate is administered, or by the law of the jurisdiction imposing the particular tax, payable in whole or in part out of the bequests, legacies, or devises otherwise deductible under this section, then the amount deductible under this section shall be the amount of such bequests, legacies, or devises reduced by the amount of such taxes. "Section 2055(c) in effect provides that the deduction is based on the amount actually available for charitable uses, that is, the amount of the fund remaining after the payment of all death taxes." Sec. 20.2055-3, Estate Tax Regs. Generally, "Congress intended that the federal estate tax should be paid out of the estate as a whole, and that the applicable state law as to the devolution of property at death should govern the distribution of the remainder and the ultimate impact of the federal tax". Riggs v. Del Drago, 317 U.S. 95, 97- 98 (1942). In limited situations, Congress has specified where the estate tax burden would fall. See secs. 2206 (life insurance), 2207 (powers of appointment), 2207A (marital deduction property), and 2207B (reserved life estate). These situations deal with property that does not pass through the executor's hands in administering the estate. See Riggs v. Del Drago, supra at 102. Section 2206 provides in part: Unless the decedent directs otherwise in his will, if any part of the gross estate on which tax has been paid consists of proceeds of policies of insurance on the life of the decedent receivable by a beneficiary other than the executor, the executor shall be entitled to recover from such beneficiary such portion of thePage: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011