26 U.S.C. § 2043
Section 2043 · Transfers for insufficient consideration
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 50 court decisions — leading case United States v. Howard Past, of the Estate of Edna C. Rosedale Ogg, Deceased (1965)
Most recently applied in Estate of Shapiro v. United States (February 2011)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
If any one of the transfers, trusts, interests, rights, or powers enumerated and described in sections 2035 to 2038, inclusive, and section 2041 is made, created, exercised, or relinquished for a consideration in money or money's worth, but is not a bona fide sale for an adequate and full consideration in money or money's worth, there shall be included in the gross estate only the excess of the fair market value at the time of death of the property otherwise to be included on account of such transaction, over the value of the consideration received therefor by the decedent.
(1) In general
For purposes of this chapter, a relinquishment or promised relinquishment of dower or curtesy, or of a statutory estate created in lieu of dower or curtesy, or of other marital rights in the decedent's property or estate, shall not be considered to any extent a consideration “in money or money's worth”.
(2) Exception
For purposes of section 2053 (relating to expenses, indebtedness, and taxes), a transfer of property which satisfies the requirements of paragraph (1) of section 2516 (relating to certain property settlements) shall be considered to be made for an adequate and full consideration in money or money's worth.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
1984—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 98–369 amended subsec. (b) generally, designating existing provisions as par. (1) and adding par. (2).
Effective Date of 1984 Amendment
Section 425(c)(1) of Pub. L. 98–369 provided that: “The amendments made by subsection (a) [amending this section and section 2053 of this title] shall apply to estates of decedents dying after the date of the enactment of this Act [July 18, 1984].”