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proportionate to decedent’s 91.28-percent limited partnership
interest. Given this finding, it is unnecessary to determine
whether the terms of the BFLP agreement provided decedent
explicit rights to control the property.
IV. Section 2035(a) and Decedent’s Gift to Cynthia Bongard
As pertinent here, section 2035(a) provides that a
decedent’s gross estate includes the value of any property or
interest therein if “(1) the decedent made a transfer * * * [of
an interest in such property] during the 3-year period ending on
the date of the decedent’s death, and (2) the value of such
property (or an interest therein) would have been included in the
decedent’s gross estate under section 2036 * * * if such
transferred interest * * * had been retained by the decedent on
the date of his death”. In this case, decedent transferred a
7.72-percent partnership interest in BFLP to Cynthia Bongard
within 3 years of his death. The issue is whether the value of
the partnership interest decedent gave to Cynthia Bongard would
have been included in his gross estate had he retained it until
his death.
As stated previously, decedent retained a section 2036(a)(1)
interest in the WCB Holdings class B membership units he
transferred to BFLP because we found the existence of an implied
agreement between decedent and ISA Trust. Decedent’s gift of a
limited partnership interest to Cynthia Bongard decreased his
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