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not exceed $600,000 and no tax was due, her estate did not file a
Federal estate tax return.
Mr. Koester died December 2, 1996. More than 80 percent of
his estate consisted of real estate. The only property that had
been jointly owned by the Koesters was a homestead and a 120-acre
parcel of land. The remainder of the realty had been solely
owned by Mr. Koester. Mr. Koester’s estate reported a gross
estate of $1,001,999 and an estate tax liability of $109,270.
OPINION
The estate points out that a married couple may split their
accumulated wealth and legally avoid estate tax on combined
assets up to $1,200,000.3 The estate argues that the Koesters
could have devised their wills accordingly and obviated any
estate tax burden; however, their lack of advanced education left
them unaware of the intricacies of these estate tax provisions.
In light of this, the estate contends that the complexity of the
Code provisions deprives the less-well educated citizens of their
right to equal protection under the law.
We find the estate’s argument is misguided. The Koesters
were free to will their property in accord with their wishes.
They hired an attorney to provide legal assistance in their
choices of disposing of their estate. On the record before us,
3 This amount is for the estates of decedents who died
before 1998.
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