September 17, 2011.
“Mr. Brimfeld are you sure you want us to file this estate tax return. After all you’re alive, but the law is now pretty clear that you were dead for tax purposes”, the accountant asked. “Go ahead and file the return, and see what the IRS says about it.” “Okay, but we’ll have to disclose that you are alive now and our basis for our position.” the accountant responded. “That’s fine” said Brimfeld. “If we lose, the IRS could impose a gift tax of $900,000 Million”, the accountant said. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained”, replied Brimfeld.
November 21, 2011
Brian Peterson looked at the return in front of him and then he looked at the death certificate. It was signed by a doctor in HERGOTIA, and it said that Mr. Brimfeld died of a heart attack brought on by a chemical overdose. He also noted that the man had apparently resurrected from the dead as noted on the return. He picked up the phone and called the Chief of the Estate and Gift Tax Section of the IRS. “I’ve got a really weird estate tax return in front of me. It says the guy is dead but he’s not dead. Its disclosed right here on the return”.
The Chief Counsel asked “did you see what was inserted in the budget bill of 2010?” “Yeah, but what does it mean”, replied Brian. “Death is to be determined by a local physician and cannot be questioned thereafter, even if the person recovers”. Its very clear. We have to accept the death certificate”, said the Chief Counsel.
December 15, 2011
Sam Brimfeld’s executor received an estate tax closing letter. “They gave up without even a fight”, said Sam.
January 1, 2012. Sam was driving home from a New Year’s Eve party when a drunk driver careened across the road and hit Sam head on. Sam did not survive.
________
Editor’s Note. In reality, Section 7701 has not been changed to add a definition of “death”. “Death” is still a matter of some debate. With three notable historical exceptions (Lazurus, Jesus, and the child Peter raised from the dead), the dead do not come back to life. There have been cases of near death that have been misdiagnosed, such as a soldier who was returned home from the war and the undertaker as he was about to embalm the body detected a very slight pulse. The man recovered. Would in that case the soldier have been dead for estate tax purposes? Its an interesting question which is why we went through this crazy story.