Edna Ricards v. United States

Plaintiff Edna Ricards appeals from a judgment of the district court denying her claim for a refund of federal estate taxes and granting the Government’s counterclaim for interest on the taxes owed. For the reasons stated below, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

In September of 1972, Edna and Kenneth Ricards (“the Ricards”) changed their residence from California to Oregon to secure a less expensive base of operations for their cattle ranching business. While residents of California, the Ricards acquired certain California real and personal property, which they held as community property under California law (“the California property”).

About the time they moved to Oregon, the Ricards sold their California property and reinvested the bulk of the proceeds in Oregon real and personal property (hereinafter “the Oregon property”). The Ricards took title to the Oregon realty as tenants by the entirety; they held the personalty as cotenants with a right of survivorship. Oregon is not a community property state.

Kenneth Ricards died on May 11, 1973, a resident of Klamath County, Oregon, and willed his interest in the couple’s Oregon property to Mrs.…