- 9 - subject matter of the gift. Frazier v. Okla. Gas & Elec. Co., 63 P.2d 11, 13 (Okla. 1936). In order to divest himself of ownership and dominion over the subject matter of the gift, petitioner (the donor) must legally own the property in issue. See Pettit v. Commissioner, 61 T.C. 634, 639 (1974) (“A ‘gift’ has been generally defined as a voluntary transfer of property by the owner to another without consideration therefor.” (Emphasis added.)). Beneficial ownership is required. Bare legal title does not control. See Estate of Davenport v. Commissioner, 184 F.3d 1176, 1182-1185 (10th Cir. 1999), affg. T.C. Memo. 1997-390; sec. 25.2511-1(g)(1), Gift Tax Regs. Respondent contends that petitioner did not own the materials relating to his defense of McVeigh in his trial for the Oklahoma City bombing and thus could not have divested himself of ownership in order to effect a valid inter vivos gift of those materials. Petitioners assert that, under Oklahoma law, petitioner legally owned the materials in issue and that the materials constituted petitioner’s personal property. The parties have not cited, and we have not found, any case in Oklahoma or any other jurisdiction that addresses directly the ownership of materials in the possession of an attorney that are related to the representation of his client. The ownership of client files is apparently an issue of first impression under Oklahoma law. However, Oklahoma State law in related areasPage: Previous 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 NextLast modified: March 27, 2008