Opinion
11669-19
09-20-2023
BOBBY L. TAYLOR, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER
Christian N. Weiler, Judge.
On September 15, 2023, the parties herein filed separate status reports, indicating how petitioner is now deceased and how this case may not be resolved without trial. Petitioner's status report also indicates how no estate proceeding has been opened and no fiduciary has been appointed at this time. We have held that a petitioner's death does not divest this Court of jurisdiction over his income tax liability for any taxable year already in issue. Nordstrom v. Commissioner, 50 T.C. 30 (1968). Rule 63(a) provides that if a petitioner dies, the Court, on motion of a party or the decedent's successor or representative or on its own initiative, may order substitution of the proper parties. The legal capacity in this Court of a representative is controlled by Rule 60(c). We apply local law to determine who has the capacity to be substituted as a party. Fehrs v. Commissioner, 65 T.C. 346, 349 (1975).
Considering the foregoing, it is
ORDERED that, on or before November 17, 2023, a representative or successor with legal capacity to act on behalf of petitioner may enter his or her appearance before this Court, to be substituted as a party and to prosecute this matter on behalf of the deceased petitioner. It is further
ORDERED that this case shall be added to the Court's Atlanta, Georgia trial session commencing on Monday January 22, 2024. It is further
ORDERED that the Clerk's Office is directed to issue and serve on the parties, through their respective counsel of record, a Notice Setting the Case for Trial and the Court's Standing Pretrial Order.