Estate of Ona E. Hendrickson - Page 70





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          be adjusted to take into account the value of decedent's                     
          contribution rights.                                                         
               2. The Value of Decedent's Contribution Rights Cannot Be                
                   Determined                                                          
               Of course, it is not always easy to determine the value of              
          contribution rights.  In some cases, we have simply held that                
          each co-obligor would contribute a proportionate share of the                
          debt, based on the number of obligors.  See, e.g., Estate of                 
          Atkins v. Commissioner, 2 T.C. 332, 346-347 (1943) (decedent was             
          one of three debtors; held, because of contribution rights,                  
          estate's deduction limited to one-third of original amount of                
          debt, less amounts decedent had previously paid); McCue v.                   
          Commissioner, a Memorandum Opinion of this Court dated Mar. 4,               
          1946 (decedent was one of 15 parties liable for a tax claim;                 
          held, because taxpayer had not proved value of contribution                  
          rights, estate's deduction limited to one-fifteenth of amount of             
          claim).                                                                      
               In this case, we cannot determine the value of decedent's               
          contribution rights on the basis of the number of obligors,                  
          because much of decedent's share of the Land Bank loan has been              
          assumed by the children and their spouses.                                   
               As noted above, by the time of her death decedent had given             
          away all but 4.68 percent of the land constituting the family                
          farm.  The deeds by which decedent made these gifts expressly                






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