Gross Estate — Section 2033 (Portfolio 817)

Bloomberg Tax Portfolio, Gross Estate — Section 2033, No. 817, is a fundamental building block for estate planners as it addresses the question of which interests in property are includible in a decedent's gross estate. This question is to be distinguished from questions of valuation, at which §2031 is directed, although the two questions are often intertwined. The §2033 issues are primarily theoretical or analytical in nature, and often the question of whether and to what extent §2033 applies will depend on the theoretical rationale of the estate tax.

The §2033 issues include problems relating to the instant before death, the instant of death, and the instant after death. Interests that expire before death, such as life estates, are not includible in the gross estate under §2033, nor are interests that do not come into existence until after death, such as proceeds of wrongful death actions. This portfolio also deals with certain exemptions from the gross estate which originated outside of §2033, such as exemptions for property belonging to Native Americans and Housing Project Notes.

This portfolio may be cited as Loomis-Price, 817 T.M., Gross Estate — Section 2033.