- 13 -
sections 2031 through 2046].” The inference to be drawn from
this statement is that certain interests properly characterized
as an “annuity” within the meaning of the estate tax laws may not
fall within the purview of section 2039.
This inference is further supported by consideration of the
rationale underlying enactment of section 2039. It has been
recognized that “Congress intended to include in the gross estate
of a decedent for estate tax purposes the value of interests
which under traditional common law concepts were never part of
the ‘estate.’” Gray v. United States, 410 F.2d 1094, 1097 (3d
Cir. 1969). Yet an annuity payable to a decedent’s estate would
have been considered an estate asset and subject to probate.
Additionally, examples contained in both the legislative history
and the current regulations reveal a focus on nonprobate assets
such as annuities payable to a designated surviving beneficiary,
joint and survivor annuities, and employer-provided retirement
annuities payable to a named beneficiary. See S. Rept. 1622, 83d
Cong., 2d Sess. (1954); H. Rept. 1337, 83d Cong., 2d Sess.
(1954); sec. 20.2039-1, Estate Tax Regs. It therefore would seem
reasonable to conclude that section 2039 did not and does not
purport to cover the universe of potential annuities that may be
subject to inclusion and valuation for estate tax purposes.
Case law also comports with this interpretation. For
instance, in Arrington v. United States, 34 Fed. Cl. 144, 145-146
Page: Previous 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 NextLast modified: May 25, 2011