D.N.

After his father died, D.N., a minor, was paid funds held in his father’s 401 (k) retirement account. Through his legal representative, D.N. acknowledges that the “distributee” of such money is liable for income tax on it but contends that he should not be treated as the distributee of the money due to the particular circumstances. Instead, he argues that his mother, named as the primary beneficiary under the 401(k) plan in the event of the father’s death, was the distributee. His mother did not actually receive any of the funds, and she was statutorily ineligible under Oregon law to receive them because she was the “slayer” of D.N.’s father, her husband. See Or.Rev.Stat. § 112.515 (2001). 1 Because she was ineligible to receive the 401(k) funds, they were paid to D.N. as the named secondary beneficiary.

After D.N. received the funds from his father’s 401(k) plan, he paid income tax on the distribution and sought a refund. The IRS denied D.N.’s claim, and D.N. brought a refund action in district court. Both sides filed motions for summary judgment. The district court granted the government’s motion and denied D.N.’s. We agree that D.N. was the distributee of the funds,…