Estate of William v. Schelberg, Sarah J. Schelberg v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue

FRIENDLY, Circuit Judge:

This appeal by a taxpayer from a decision of the Tax Court, 70 T.C. 690 (1978), raises a serious question with respect to the interpretation of § 2039, which was added to the Internal Revenue Code in 1954. 1

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Decedent William V. Schelberg was born on March 14, 1914 and died on January 6, 1974 from lung cancer after a week’s illness. He was survived by his wife, Sarah, and two daughters, one aged 23 and the other 19. He had been employed by International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) since 1952. At his death he was serving as assistant director of international patent…