Estate of Theis v. Commissioner

CLARK, Circuit Judge:

This is an appeal from a decision of the tax court, 81 T.C. 741 (1983), finding that the balances due on certain mortgages were not deductible by the appellants’ estates under 26 U.S.C. § 2053. The pertinent facts which were stipulated to are as follows. Mary L. Theis (decedent/wife) died June 29, 1976 in St. Petersburg, Florida. Her husband, Charles Fred Theis (decedent/husband) died April 18, 1977 also in St. Petersburg.

The decedents owned several parcels of real property in Pinellas County, Florida, as tenants by the entirety. On November 8, 1974, the decedents made…