Meyer v. United States
United States Supreme Court
364 U.S. 410 (1960)
- Written by Daniel Clark, JD
Facts
Albert Meyer died while holding a life-insurance policy naming his wife and daughter as beneficiaries. The policy had a death benefit of approximately $25,000. Under the terms of the policy, the benefit was to be paid in equal monthly installments to Meyer’s wife until her own death. However, the policy guaranteed payments for 20 years; if Meyer’s wife died within 20 years of Meyer’s death, the remaining guaranteed payments would go to Meyer’s daughter. When Meyer died, the insurance company made the actuarial determination that approximately $7,000 of the total death benefit needed to be set aside to fund payments to Meyer’s wife were she to live more than 20 more years. The executors of Meyer’s estate (plaintiffs) claimed the $7,000 as deductible under the estate tax’s marital deduction. The Internal Revenue Service (defendant) denied the claim. The estate paid the disputed amount and sued the government for a refund in district court. The district court ruled in favor of the estate but was reversed by the court of appeals. The estate appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which granted certiorari.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Whittaker, J.)
Dissent (Douglas, J.)
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