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Section 2036(a) effectively includes in the gross
estate the full fair market value, at the date of
death, of all property transferred in which the
decedent had retained an interest, rather than the
value of only the retained interest. Fidelity-
Philadelphia Trust Co. v. Rothensies, 324 U.S. 108
(1945). This furthers the legislative policy to
“include in a decedent’s gross estate transfers that
are essentially testamentary--i.e., transfers which
leave the transferor a significant interest in or
control over the property transferred during his
lifetime.” United States v. Estate of Grace, 395 U.S.
316, 320 (1969). Thus, an asset transferred by a
decedent while he was alive cannot be excluded from his
gross estate unless he “absolutely, unequivocally,
irrevocably, and without possible reservations, parts
with all of his title and all of his possession and all
of his enjoyment of the transferred property.”
Commissioner v. Estate of Church, 335 U.S. 632, 645
(1949). * * * [Emphasis added.]
Regulations further detail that “If the decedent retained or
reserved an interest or right with respect to a part only of the
property transferred by him, the amount to be included in his
gross estate under section 2036 is only a corresponding
proportion”. Sec. 20.2036-1(a), Estate Tax Regs. Accordingly,
caselaw and regulatory authority converge to indicate that the
full value of transferred property is includable unless there
existed some specific portion of the contributed assets that the
retained interest or rights could not reach.
Here, the record reveals that no part of the transferred
property was exempt from the rights or enjoyment retained by
decedent. The relevant documents make no distinction among the
various assets contributed, nor does the evidence reflect that
Mr. Gulig looked to particular assets in determining whether
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