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transfer taxes, legal fees, and other estate obligations.64 As
discussed above, we have found that the only anticipated signifi-
cant financial obligation of Ms. Mirowski when she formed and
funded MFV and when she made the respective gifts to her daugh-
ters’ trusts was the substantial gift tax for which she would be
liable with respect to those gifts. We have also found that at
no time before Ms. Mirowski’s death did the members of MFV have
any express or unwritten agreement or understanding to distribute
assets of MFV in order to pay that gift tax liability. In order
to pay the anticipated gift tax liability with respect to her
contemplated respective gifts of 16-percent interests in MFV to
her daughters’ trusts, Ms. Mirowski could have (1) used a portion
of the over $7.5 million of personal assets that she retained and
did not transfer to MFV, including cash and cash equivalents of
over $3.3 million, (2) used a portion or all of the distributions
that she expected to receive as an interest holder in MFV of the
millions of dollars of royalty payments under the ICD patents
64Included in the Federal and State transfer taxes was
$11,750,623 that decedent’s personal representatives paid in
April 2002 as the estimated gift tax liability with respect to
Ms. Mirowski’s respective gifts of 16-percent interests in MFV to
her daughters’ trusts. In July 2002, those representatives filed
on behalf of Ms. Mirowski the 2001 Form 709 that showed actual
gift tax liability for 2001 of $9,729,280, resulting in a credit
to decedent’s estate. Respondent determined a deficiency in Ms.
Mirowski’s gift tax for 2001 attributable to the value of each of
Ms. Mirowski’s gifts. The parties have resolved their dispute as
to the gift tax of Ms. Mirowski for 2001. See supra notes 1 and
36.
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