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Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1995-30, affd. without published opinion
100 F.3d 945 (2d Cir. 1996). Nevertheless, the evidence in the
record suggests a lackadaisical, if not indifferent, attitude on
the part of the executrix with respect to the preparation and
filing of the estate tax return and payment of estate taxes.
The executrix in this case was not a naive, incapacitated,
elderly citizen but rather an experienced businesswoman who
operated a restaurant and night club into the early 1970s and
thereafter assisted a cousin in operating a dress shop. There is
also evidence in the record to suggest that, as late as 1984,
1985, and 1986, the executrix assisted decedent in the operation
of a Schedule C business known as Club Continental. Moreover,
the executrix was only 66 years of age at the time of her
husband's death.
The executrix was charged with the duty of ascertaining the
due date for filing the estate tax return. Additionally, as the
deadline for filing the estate tax return approached, ordinary
business care and prudence required that she utilize whatever
information had been gathered and prepared to that point to file
a timely return and to continue finalizing information for an
amended return at a later date, a procedure she followed on
numerous occasions with the probate court. Her failure to take
these steps constituted willful neglect on her part.
On this record, the Court finds that the estate failed to
prove that the failure to file a timely Federal estate tax return
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