Estate of Shapiro v. United States

Opinion by Judge SILVERMAN; Partial Concurrence and Partial Dissent by Judge TASHIMA.

OPINION

SILVERMAN, Circuit Judge:

Bernard Shapiro and Cora Jane Chenchark lived together for twenty-two years, but they never married. Over those twenty-two years, Chenchark cooked, cleaned, and managed their household. When they broke up, she filed a palimony suit against him in state court. While the suit was pending, he died. In the context of this tax refund lawsuit filed by Shapiro’s estate, the district court held that Chenchark’s homemaking services did not, as a matter of law, provide sufficient…