Estate of Roberta L. Bailey, Deceased, and Joseph W. Bailey, Iii, Independent v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue

JOHN R. BROWN, Circuit Judge:

In this appeal from a decision of the United States Tax Court, 79 T.C. 441, the estate of Roberta L. Bailey, as represented by her son Joseph W. Bailey, III, claims the Tax Court erred in including in Mrs. Bailey’s estate property that should have passed to Joseph III upon the death of his father in 1943. Under Texas law, upon the father’s death, one-half of the community property should have passed to Joseph III. We conclude that Texas courts would have imposed a constructive trust upon those funds during the life of Mrs. Bailey. 1 Thus, at least some portion of…