Christine M. Hackl - Page 27




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          references contractual rights in a bond, note, or insurance                 
          policy that do not result in a future interest characterization.            
          Hence, while petitioners seem to acknowledge that the Operating             
          Agreement in large part defines the nature of the property                  
          received by the donees, they also apparently would have us ignore           
          any provisions of the Agreement which limited the ability of the            
          donees to presently recognize economic value as akin to the                 
          contractual rights mentioned in the regulation.                             
               However, petitioners’ reliance on section 25.2503-3(a), Gift           
          Tax Regs., is misplaced.  This Court has previously taken a much            
          narrower view of the cited regulatory language.  In Estate of               
          Vose v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1959-175, vacated and remanded             
          on another issue 284 F.2d 65 (1st Cir. 1960), we opined that the            
          regulations were “designed to cover notes and bonds which,                  
          although perhaps not containing all of the attributes of                    
          negotiable instruments, are at least definitely enforceable legal           
          obligations payable on a day certain and immediately disposable             
          by the obligee.”  LLC units hardly fall within these parameters,            
          and we observe that the quoted reasoning is consistent with our             
          focus on requiring some presently reachable economic benefit.               
               Furthermore, petitioners’ attempts to find in these                    
          regulations support for a distinction between limitations                   
          contractually inherent in the transferred property and                      
          restrictions imposed upon transfer are not well taken.  All facts           






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