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II. Contentions of the Parties
The parties in this case disagree as to the portion of the
proceeds from the three policies of insurance on decedent’s life
which must be included in his gross estate. The estate contends
that only 50 percent is includable, while respondent maintains
that inclusion of 100 percent is necessary. The two sides reach
their differing conclusions primarily as a result of their
opposing views as to whether, under Louisiana law, decedent
possessed incidents of ownership in all or only part of the
policies in question.
The estate avers that because the policies were acquired
during the marriage with community funds, they are presumed to be
community property. Further, the estate asserts that there
exists no evidence of intent on the part of Mrs. Burris that the
policies be held as decedent’s separate property, as would be
necessary to overcome the marital presumption. Accordingly, it
is the estate’s position that each spouse possessed an undivided
one-half interest in the policies and that decedent, as
registered owner, merely acted as managing agent for the
community.
In the alternative, the estate argues that if the policies
are found to be the separate property of decedent, then a
reimbursement claim would exist in favor of Mrs. Burris’s
successors in interest on the grounds that community funds were
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