Estate of Willard F. Rockwell, Deceased, Willard F. Rockwell, Jr., and Mellon Bank, N.A., Executors v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue

OPINION OF THE COURT

ROSENN, Circuit Judge.

This appeal presents two questions related to federal estate taxes. 1 The primary question is whether the decedent, Willard F. Rockwell, possessed incidents of ownership in eight life insurance policies on his life at the time of his death. The tax court held that he did and that the insurance policies were includable in his gross estate for tax purposes. The second question concerns gifts made by the decedent several years before his death: is the appreciation on the gifts in the hands of the donees includable in the decedent’s gross estate for tax…