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apportionment statute, with the result that the statutory
exception, N.C. Gen. Stat. sec. 28A-27-5(a), under which
Federal estate tax is not apportioned to charitable
bequests, applies to the gift or bequest to Millbrook
United Methodist Church. Implicit in the estate's argument
is the assumption that the Court must find two things in
order to conclude that the decedent opted out of the North
Carolina apportionment statute: (a) That the decedent
intended all death taxes to be paid from the probate
residuary estate, and (b) that the decedent intended to
apportion death taxes to all beneficiaries, including
the charitable beneficiary. According to the estate, the
decedent's will directs that death taxes be paid from the
trust, not from the probate residuary estate, and the will
does not make specific reference to the "apportionment" of
death taxes.
Finally, the estate argues that the language used by
a decedent to opt out of the North Carolina apportionment
statute must be clear, unequivocal, and unambiguous; and,
if there is any ambiguity in the language, then the Court
must apply the North Carolina apportionment statute,
including the exception for charitable bequests. According
to the estate, the language of paragraph 1.02 of the
decedent's will and paragraph 6.02B of the trust agreement
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