Estate of Kohlsaat

Facts

Decedent prior to his death formed a trust as an irrevocable trust and transferred to the trust a commercial building owned by the decedent and managed for many years by various family members. Under the provisions of the trust, Beatrice Reinecke and peter Kohlsaat, the Decedent’s children, each received an interest in one-halfof the corpus and income of the trust. Each also received the special power to appoint the corpus of their share to his or her children or grandchildren. Beatrice and Peter and sixteen contingent remainder beneficiaries were given the right to demand from the trust an immediate distribution in an amount not to exceed $10,000, which such right lapsing 30 days after the transfer of property to the trust. This right was not exercised by any beneficiary. The Decedent’s estate attempted to treat the interest transferred to the sixteen contingent beneficiaries as qualifying for gift tax exclusions. An audit of the Federal estate tax return denied the exc lusions on the ground that the contingent beneficiaries did not hold a present interest in the trust.