Estate of Henry A. Lassiter, deceased, Paula Ann Masters Lassiter, administrator, C.T.A. - Page 24




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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          We therefore proceed on the basis that the 1970 will has not been             
          revoked under Georgia law.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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