Estate and Gift Taxation of the Marital Community: Integration or Disintegration?

Authors

Brockman Adams

Abstract

Prior to 1948 it was immediately apparent that any discussion of federal estate and gift taxation had to be divided into the two categories of community property and common law Though an obvious attempt has been made to eliminate the major differences in tax treatment of the two systems, there are still many distinctions which do not meet the eye on a casual reading of the statute. The average practitioner, and for that matter the average "tax lawyer," does not have time to explore the technicalities of the new marital deduction "equalizer" let alone suggest necessary revisions. This article is written in an attempt to show that many distinctions are still present in the statute, many faults and traps for the unwary can develop even in community property states, and that perhaps we should all be thinking of alternative solutions to the problem beyond the present geographic compromise. It is now, rather than after judicial decisions have solidified the statutory pattern, that action should be taken.

First Page

100

Recommended Citation

Brockman Adams, Estate and Gift Taxation of the Marital Community: Integration or Disintegration?, 28 Wash. L. Rev. & St. B.J. 100 (1953).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wlr/vol28/iss2/4