Charitable deduction for faulty unitrust denied because the estate failed to file court proceeding to reform the trust

The court in Estate of Tamulis v. Commissioner, 509 F.3d 343 (7th Cir. 2007), refused to apply the substantial compliance doctrine.  The court explained that the taxpayer knew that reformation was needed and “had no excuse” for the failure to do so.  The court also stated that the reformation “requirement is not unimportant; it protects against efforts to bend trust law to get a tax benefit.”