Mortimer Freedman, Independent Under the Last Will and Testament of Margaret Freeman v. United States

THORNBERRY, Circuit Judge.

This appeal is from a judgment of the district court denying appellant’s claim for refund of estate tax in the amount of $7,081.21, plus interest. 1 The tax in question resulted from inclusion in the gross estate of Margaret Freedman, appellant’s deceased wife, of one-half of the value of a $50,000 insurance policy on the decedent’s life. A consideration of the applicable estate-tax provision (Int.Rev.Code of 1954, § 2042) 2 and of Texas community-property law persuaded the court below that the decedent owned one-half of the policy at the time of her death and that…