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that the tax liabilities in issue were discovered by Mr. Lahr.
But almost all the estate’s assets had already been distributed
by then. As a result, on November 30, 1993, petitioner submitted
an Offer in Compromise and sent a check for $17,586.07, the
balance of the estate’s assets, to respondent. The offer was not
accepted, and several months later respondent returned the check
to petitioner without explanation. Petitioner immediately
informed Mr. Lahr. Thereafter, Mr. Lahr and Mr. Dilg met with
representatives of respondent and erroneously concluded that
respondent would drop the tax claims against the estate. They
informed petitioner of this, and Mr. Lahr advised petitioner to
make the final disbursements and to close the estate. Relying on
the advice of the estate’s attorney and the certified public
accountant, petitioner closed the estate.
A fiduciary who knows of a debt due to the United States
cannot delegate his responsibility to pay such a debt. The act
of payment requires no legal expertise. If a fiduciary delegates
to an attorney responsibility to make payment, he assumes the
responsibility for the attorney’s actions. Under such
circumstances, failure to pay a debt due to the United States
gives rise to personal liability under 31 U.S.C. section 3713(b).
See Leigh v. Commissioner, supra at 1112-1113. The question
presented here is different; the question is whether petitioner
had the requisite knowledge at the time that he was disbursing
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