Post-Mortem Recognition of Informal Family Partnerships

The purpose of this Comment is to discuss the interrelationship between the recognition of informal family farm partnerships and the determination of the property to be included in a decedent's estate for federal estate tax purposes. This article briefly examines the structure of the estate tax system and proceeds with a discussion of the impact which the recognition of informal family farm partnerships has on the computation of estate and income tax. I. Introduction II. The Federal Estate Tax ... A. History of Federal Estate Taxation ... B. Estate Tax and Property Includable in the Gross Estate III. Determination of Partnership Status ... A. Federal Tax Law Determinative of Status ... B. Partnership Definitions ... C. Distinction between Informal and Family Partnerships ... D. Definition of a Family Partnership ... 1. Early Common Law ... 2. The Culbertson Decision ... 3. Congressional Response to Culbertson ... 4. Impact of Section 704(e)(1) on the Family Farm Partnership ... E. Relationship between Income Tax and Estate Tax Treatment IV. Conclusion