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property to Mrs. Ann Lassiter is believed to exist but cannot be
found.” Similarly, the petition to this Court contains the
following:
On several occasions in the two year period prior to
his death, Henry told a number of his friends and
business associates that he had executed a new Will
that would make sure that his estate passed to his wife
and children estate tax free (with the effect of
deferring the estate tax liability until the death of
his wife).
Unfortunately, when Henry died, no such Will could be
found. An exhaustive search was made and yet the most
recent Will that could be located was a 1970 instrument
(“1970 Will”) containing an outdated fifty percent
marital deduction formula trust (“Marital Trust”) and a
residuary trust (“Residuary Trust”).
The significance attached by respondent to these averments
appears to have shifted to some degree throughout the litigation
process. The answer states that respondent “Alleges that the
only will at issue is the Will probated by the court; * * * that
the will probated by the Court is dispositive of the decedent’s
intent for Federal estate tax purposes; and that parol or
extrinsic evidence is inadmissible to alter the terms of the
decedent’s will.” A like pronouncement is made in the
stipulation of facts signed by the parties on November 1, 1999:
“It is Respondent’s assertion that the 1970 Will is the only will
of the decedent and that it had not been revoked prior to his
death and was the only will admitted to probate; Petitioner
maintains that a more recent will or codicil exists but cannot be
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