Bodell v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue

MAHONEY, Circuit Judge.

The question in this case is whether the proceeds of certain insurance policies should be included in the gross estate of the decedent for federal estate tax purposes. The decedent, Frederick Bodell, took out eight policies of insurance on his life on account of which $120,260.07 was paid at his death. He died on June 20, 1938, with his wife, Albina Elise Bodell, surviving him. His executor, Joseph J. Bodell, the petitioner herein, included no part of these proceeds in the decedent’s estate tax return. The Board of Tax Appeals (now The Tax Court of the United States)…