Erdman v. Commissioner
United States Tax Court
Upon the termination of a testamentary trust established by the father of Eleanor Erdman, the trustee filed suit in chancery court to determine the proper recipient of the property. Eleanor participated in the suit and asserted successfully that she was one of the persons entitled to the property. The chancery court then ordered that Eleanor be reimbursed from the trust corpus for her attorney's fees.
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Upon the termination of a testamentary trust established by the father of Eleanor Erdman, the trustee filed suit in chancery court to determine the proper recipient of the property. Eleanor participated in the suit and asserted successfully that she was one of the persons entitled to the property. The chancery court then ordered that Eleanor be reimbursed from the trust corpus for her attorney's fees. The petitioners, Eleanor's executors and her husband, contend that the attorney's fees are a deductible expense to her and, in the alternative, that the trust is entitled to deduct them and thus…
1Opinion of the Court
OPINION.
Fat, Judge:
The first issue is whether the petitioners are entitled to an expense deduction for any of the legal fees incurred in connection with the litigation to construe the will. The respondent contends that the payment of these fees should be considered an expenditure of the trust. We agree with the respondent.
The equity court, in its decree, determined that the amount of the attorney fees incurred by all the parties was properly a charge upon the trust. When the legal fees of a beneficiary involved in trust litigation are ordered paid from a trust, it is because the beneficiary…
2Cases cited12 opinions
- United States v. MerrillCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1954
- Bishop v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 1956
- Neave v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 1952
- Loyd v. United StatesUnited States Court of Claims · 1957
- Shoe Corp. of America v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 1957
7 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by3 opinions
- Fleischman v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 1966
- Erdman v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 1962
- Fleischman v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 1966