Commissioner v. Estate of Hubert (1996)
- Docket
- 95-1402
- Decided
- 1996-01-01
Summary
Question: Does the cost of administering an estate necessarily reduce the allowed estate-tax deduction for assets left to a spouse or charity? Conclusion: No. In an opinion authored by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, the Court ruled that a taxpayer does not have to reduce the estate tax deduction for marital or charitable bequests by the amount of the administration expenses that were paid from income generated during administration by assets allocated to those bequests. "When income is used . . . to pay administration expenses, this does not require the estate tax deductions be diminished," wrote Justice Kennedy.