United States v. Maude E. Spicer, of the Will of Z. N. Spicer, Deceased

PICKETT, Circuit Judge.

This appeal requires the construction of a joint, mutual and contractual will to determine the right to the marital deduction provided for in 26 U.S.C. § 2056 in computing federal estate taxes. The estate tax return claimed the statutory marital deduction on the adjusted gross estate. The Commissioner of Internal Revenue disallowed the entire value of the estate for marital deduction purposes on the grounds that the will severed the joint tenancies under which the parties held real and personal property and by its terms granted to the survivor only a life estate in all…