Estate of Ambrosina Blanche Lopes, deceased, James W. Lopes, Trustee - Page 6




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          into 100-percent fee ownership with other fractional interests              
          owned by an estate.  See Estate of Mellinger v. Commissioner, 112           
          T.C. at 36-37.  In Estate of Bonner the court specifically stated           
          that there was nothing in section 2044 to require the merger of             
          QTIP assets with other assets.  See Estate of Bonner v. United              
          States, supra at 198.  In Estate of Mellinger, it was explained             
          that nothing in section 2044 nor in the legislative history                 
          indicated that the decedent should be treated as the owner of the           
          QTIP shares.  See Estate of Mellinger v. Commissioner, supra at             
          36.                                                                         
               This analysis is equally applicable to the facts before us.            
          Nothing in section 2044 or the accompanying legislative history             
          indicates that Congress intended that the property that "passes             
          through" a decedent's estate under section 2044(c) be treated as            
          if the decedent actually owned that property for purposes of                
          aggregation.  Nor is there any indication that those property               
          interests should be merged or aggregated with interests in the              
          same property includable in the decedent's gross estate pursuant            
          to other Code sections for purposes of determining Federal estate           
          tax value.  Section 2044 provides only that the fair market value           
          of property in which the decedent had a qualifying income                   
          interest for life should be included in the gross estate.  See              
          sec. 2044(a).  Thus, the fractional interests of the survivor's             
          trust and the QTIP trust should be valued separately.                       





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