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The general purpose of section 2036 is 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); see also Estate of Harper v. Commissioner, T.C.
Memo. 2002-121. “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.’” Estate of Thompson v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2002-
246 (quoting Commissioner v. Estate of Church, 335 U.S. 632, 645
(1949)).
The statute describes a “broad scheme of inclusion,” which
is not limited to the form of the transaction, but concerns “all
inter vivos transfers where outright disposition of the property
is delayed until the transferor’s death.” Guynn v. United
States, 437 F.2d 1148, 1150 (4th Cir. 1971). The statute
“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.” Estate of Thompson v. Commissioner,
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