October 28, 2004 | Read Time: 1 minute
An estate cannot take a charitable deduction for making a gift that was first made to the deceased person’s sister, who is a nun, and then to the religious order of which the nun is a member, the Internal Revenue Service has ruled in a case in which it did not identify the people involved.
At issue was whether the bequest was tax-deductible because the nun, to whom the bequest was made, gave it to her religious order, following her vow of poverty.
The nun, as executrix of her sibling’s estate, transferred the cash and stocks to the order nine months after the death of her sibling. The estate consisted primarily of securities and cash.
Although a charitable deduction is permitted for gifts that are renounced by the beneficiary and pass directly to a charity, in this case the sister failed to file with the probate court a legal form renouncing the estate, the IRS said. Her vow of poverty does not constitute such a legal document, the government said (Technical Advice Memorandum 200437032).
