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allegations thereof by a person in a position to have knowledge
of the decedent’s actions, the Supreme Court of Georgia would not
find an express revocation to have been effected. Moreover, we
cannot deny the logic of the following remarks by the estate on
brief:
Respondent seeks to inject the mixed contention of fact
and law that the full Marital Deduction Will Henry said
he had was, unbeknownst to the Estate, (i) executed by
Henry, (ii) signed by the required number of witnesses,
(iii) with the requisite formalities, and (iv)
contained a clause revoking the 1970 Will. The great
irony is that Henry’s family and friends searched high
and low for sufficient evidence to prove the existence
and content of the full Marital Deduction Will for
probate purposes. That evidence would have resolved
this entire dispute but it could not be found.
Consequently, both parties are left to cope with the
obsolete 1970 Will.
We therefore proceed on the basis that the 1970 will has not been
revoked under Georgia law.
IV. Qualification for Marital Deduction
We next address whether the interest received by Mrs.
Lassiter under the 1970 will, as modified by the 1995
disclaimers, qualifies for the marital deduction pursuant to
section 2056(b)(7). Section 2056(b)(7) was enacted as part of
the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 (ERTA), Pub. L. 97-34, sec.
403(d)(1), 95 Stat. 172, 302. Prior to 1981, no marital
deduction had been permitted for the type of interest now
sanctioned by this provision. ERTA also effected another
significant change to the marital deduction statute in that it
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