- 52 -
Commissioner, 100 T.C. at 58; sec. 20.2056(d)-2(b), Estate Tax
Regs., we decline to adopt a rule whereby a spouse attempting to
do so is forced to renounce rights allowed by the very terms of
the deduction statute.
Here, of the two elements required to establish a qualifying
income interest for life and consequent eligibility for the QTIP
deduction, we decided above that the first had been met. We then
concluded that all interests affecting the second, with the
possible exception of Mrs. Lassiter’s inter vivos power to
appoint to descendants’ future spouses, had been properly
disclaimed. Because this power is personal to Mr. Lassiter’s
wife, and because we again have no reason to question its
effectiveness under Georgia law, we observe that a qualified
disclaimer thereof would parallel the situation approved for QTIP
purposes in section 20.2056(b)-7(h), Example (4), Estate Tax
Regs. Thus, the effect of our accepting Mrs. Lassiter’s
disclaimer of her inter vivos power would be to render the Item V
trust a deductible interest under section 2056(b)(7). Such
deduction, in turn, would cause the property to be subject to
Federal estate tax in Mrs. Lassiter’s estate. We therefore hold
that Mrs. Lassiter made a qualified disclaimer of her inter vivos
power over the Item V trust. Her ability to appoint trust
property during her life has been extinguished. As a result,
there remain no powers over the Item V trust of the type
Page: Previous 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 NextLast modified: May 25, 2011