Estate of Green v. United States
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
68 F.3d 151 (1995)
- Written by Daniel Clark, JD
Facts
Jack Green and his wife, Norma Green, set up two trusts for the benefit of their grandchildren, Jennifer and Greer Goodman. Jack, as settlor for the trust benefitting Jennifer, nominated Norma as trustee. Norma, as settlor for the trust benefitting Greer, nominated Jack as trustee. The trustees had no authority over the trusts other than to reinvest trust income and time distributions. There was no way for the trustees to exercise their powers to derive any personal economic benefits. Jack died while serving as the trustee for the trust benefitting Greer. Jack’s estate (plaintiff) did not include either trust in his gross estate. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) (defendant) invoked the reciprocal-trusts doctrine to determine that the trusts must be included. The estate challenged this determination in district court and prevailed. The IRS appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Krupansky, J.)
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