Commissioner v. Copley's Estate (194 F.2d 364, 1952)

MAJOR, Chief Judge.

This is a petition by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to review and reverse a decision of the Tax Court, entered August 11, 1950, exonerating respondents as the executors of the estate of Ira C. Copley from the payment of a gift tax'for the years 1936 and 1944.

The decedent (sometimes referred to as the taxpayer) and his intended wife, Chloe Davidson-Worley, on April 18, 1931, while in Paris, France, in contemplation of marriage and in consideration thereof entered into an antenuptial agreement by which “the said party of the first part [Copley] hereby agrees to pay to said party of the second part [the prospective wife], to be effective immediately after the solemnization-of said marriage, the sum of one million dollars, the said sum to become