Estate of Kenneth E. Starkey v. United States

MANION, Circuit Judge.

Kenneth Starkey was apparently both financially successful and generous. As he neared death, he made out his last will and testament and set up a charitable trust. These documents were drafted by his attorney son, who had little or no experience drafting such instruments, and the inartful language caused problems. The Internal Revenue Service concluded that the charitable trust Mr. Starkey created did not qualify for a charitable deduction. As a result, it denied the Estate a charitable deduction worth well over one million dollars. This resulted in an estate tax…