- 22 - substantial, if not strict compliance. * * * [Taylor v. Commissioner, 67 T.C. 1071, 1077-1078 (1977); citations omitted.] Given the antiabuse rationale behind section 2055(e)(3) (as explained in the legislative history previously discussed), we conclude that Congress intended compliance with either section 2055(e)(3)(c)(ii) or (iii) as a precondition to effecting a reformation of a trust to satisfy section 2055(e)(2). Thus, the foregoing requirements relate to the substance or essence of the statute. We accordingly conclude that section 2055(e)(3) requires strict, not merely substantial, compliance. There was no strict compliance here. Moreover, we are not persuaded that even substantial compliance occurred. The estate's contention that the return statement should substantially satisfy the requirement for prompt initiation of reformation proceedings is unpersuasive. While the executor/trustee may have acted in good faith, the return statement did not put respondent on notice of the trust's defects before audit. The return statement is fairly read as asserting that the trust at issue was a CRUT, as it described the charitable remainder as the "Balance that is residue following 10 year term certain charitable remainder unitrust * * * where * * * the Trustee holds * * * pursuant to the terms and conditions of I.R.C. Sec. 664 and related provisions". (Emphasis added.) None of the efforts to amend the trust, either the unexecuted attemptsPage: Previous 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011