Estate of Paul H. Liljestrand v. Commissioner (U.S. Tax Court)
Prior to death in 2004, Paul Liljestrand (decedent) transferred real estate holdings from his personal revocable trust into PLP LP, an entity he formed on May 30, 1997 with the intention of leaving his property his children. The Court determined that despite transferring legal title of the real estate into PLP LP, partnership funds and income were still being deposited into the bank account of the trust for several years (1997-1999) thereafter, resulting in comingling. Furthermore, since decedent had contributed all income producing assets into PLP LP his remaining income could not cover his living expenses. Consequently, such shortfalls were met through disproportionate distributions (the period 1999-2003) to the decedent’s revocable trust for the purpose of paying his expenses. For these reasons, the Court determined that the value of decedent’s estate should include the value of the assets transferred to PLP LP.