TAXATION-TECHNICAL CHANGES ACT OF 1949-"POSSESSION OR ENJOYMENT" CLAUSE OF I.R.C. 811 ( c)

For the past decade Congress has been urged to define specifically the scope of I.R.C. 811(c), which subjects to the estate tax an inter vivas transfer intended to take effect in possession or enjoyment at or after the donor's death. Until 1949 proposed amendments were largely directed at legislative rejection of the doctrine of Helvering v. Hallock, but with the decisions in the Church and Spiegel cases last year, it became apparent that more extensive revision and clarification was needed. Sections 7 and 8 of the Technical Changes Act of 1949, which became law on October 25, 1949, represent the attempt of Congress to meet this need. The application of these sections to specific types of transfers forms the basis of the discussion which follows.