- 20 - unusual. Cf. Gutchess v. Commissioner, 46 T.C. 554, 557 (1966) (where a husband transferred his entire interest in a homestead property to his wife, who then allowed him to live in the house without charge, the donor's continued use and enjoyment is a natural use which does not diminish the wife's enjoyment and possession). In this case, decedent's continued use and possession of parcel 3, of which she owned a controlling interest, is natural in light of the children's minority ownership. It is not surprising that the children did not seek to partition the property, since they also used the property regularly and they had only a minority interest in the property. In addition to the objective facts, our decision rests heavily on Dean’s testimony that there was no understanding between decedent and her children. While his testimony was clearly self-serving, Dean's testimony was straightforward, unequivocal, and credible. Respondent’s counsel chose not to cross-examine him on this point. Because we credit his testimony, we hold that petitioner has carried its burden of proving that there was no implied agreement. Cf. Hendry v. Commissioner, 62 T.C. 861, 872 (1974). II. Taxable Gifts Adjustment The second issue is whether decedent rented ranch property to her children at a below-market rate, thereby making a taxable gift to her children. In the notice of deficiency, respondentPage: Previous 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Next
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