-58- Commissioner, 800 F.2d at 631; see also Estate of Strangi v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2003-145 (“accounting entries alone are of small moment in belying the existence of an agreement for retained possession and enjoyment”). This factor weighs toward a finding that decedent’s use of the funds of the LRFLP did not create bona fide debt. ii. Fixed Maturity Date and Schedule of Repayments The absence of a fixed maturity date and a fixed obligation to repay weighs against a finding of bona fide debt. See Roth Steel Tube Co. v. Commissioner, supra at 631; Stinnett’s Pontiac Serv., Inc. v. Commissioner, 730 F.2d at 638. The promissory notes had no fixed maturity date or schedule for repayment. While petitioners assert that each note was a demand note for which payment could have been requested at any time, LRFLP never made any such demand and, more importantly, decedent never had the ready ability to honor such a demand if and when one had been made. Moreover, despite the lack of any repayment, the LRFLP continued to allow decedent to use its funds without any schedule for repayment. As noted by the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, “an unsecured note due on demand with no specific maturity date, and no payments is insufficient to evidence a genuine debt.” Stinnett’s Pontiac Serv., Inc. v. Commissioner, supra at 638. Such is especially so where, as here, the choice of whether or when to make demand forPage: Previous 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011