Estate Intended For Charity Depleted By Litigation And Income Tax

The Tax Court decision in the Estate of Eileen S. Belmont is probably one of good intentions gone awry. Ms. Belmont wanted to provide something for her brother, who had issues, and have the bulk of her estate go to the Columbus Jewish Foundation. Unfortunately, a lack of clarity caused a good chunk of her estate to be spent on litigation and a substantial income tax hit that might have been avoided. The tax court decision is of course about the income taxes. The litigation that created the income tax problem was in California state courts.