Aloha Discounts or How Not to Operate a Family Limited Partnership

Summary: In Estate of Paul H. Liljestrand v. Commissioner, decided on November 2, the Tax Court recently addressed the issue of whether assets the decedent transferred to a family limited partnership were includible in the decedent’s estate under Internal Revenue Code Section 2036. The Court’s decision illustrates that failing to observe the formalities of operating the partnership is tantamount, for estate tax purposes, to not having established the partnership at all.