Credit for Tax on Prior Transfers Under 2013

Wendy C. Gerzog (Professor of Law, University of Baltimore School of Law) recently published her article entitled Caering About the Credit for Prior Transfers, 129 Tax Notes No. 9 (2010). The conclusion is below:

When both spouses die within a short period, estate planners often need to decide whether the first spouse to die should forgo taking the marital deduction in favor of using the benefits of the credit for the tax on prior transfers under section 2013. The main issue in Le Caer, however, concerned the calculations under the credit statute. Since, as the court stated, the estates’ computations are not allowed by section 2013, its legislative history, or the government’s regulations, it is not surprising that the estate was unsuccessful.