Myra B. Robinson v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue

ALVIN B. RUBIN, Circuit Judge:

The husband of a Texas-domiciled taxpayer died in 1972, leaving a will that required his wife, as a condition of taking under the will, to elect to let his will direct the disposition of her share of the community property. The wife elected to take under the will, and, accordingly, she placed her share of the community property in a trust, reserving the income for life and retaining a power of appointment that permitted her to make gifts to her children, the surviving spouse of any deceased child, or to charity. Four years later the wife released the retained…