Opinion
12481-21
09-12-2022
WILLIAM C. BRADLEY & SALLY A. BRADLEY, Petitioners v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER
Elizabeth A. Copeland, Judge.
On June 25, 2021, Petitioner William C. Bradley and Petitioner Sally A. Bradley timely filed a petition to commence this case and signed the petition.
On August 17, 2022, Petitioners filed a Motion to Substitute Parties and Change Caption. In the motion, Petitioners stated that Petitioner William C. Bradley died after the filing of the petition, no formal estate proceedings will be initiated, Petitioner Sally A. Bradley is the "survivor in community" to the deceased Petitioner, and she is willing to represent his interests in the prosecution of this case. On August 31, 2022, Petitioners filed a Status Report and attached thereto a copy of Petitioner William C. Bradley's death certificate reflecting that he was a resident of the State of Texas when he died.
Any action in this Court must be prosecuted by a proper party. Under Tax Court Rule 63(a), "[i]f 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." This Court applies local law to determine who has the capacity to be substituted as a party. Rule 60(c); Fehrs v. Commissioner, 65 T.C. 346, 349 (1975).
Unless otherwise indicated, all Rule references are to the Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure.
Section 453.003 of the Texas Estates Code provides:
If there is no qualified executor or administrator of a deceased spouse's estate, the surviving spouse, as the surviving partner of the marital partnership, may: (1) sue and be sued to recover community property; .
. . . and (4) exercise other powers as necessary to: (A) preserve the community property; (B) discharge community obligations, and (C) wind up community affairs.
Thus, where there has been no administration of a married person's estate, under Texas law the surviving spouse possesses all the rights of an administrator with respect to the community property. The Court has held that, where the income which is the basis for the notice of deficiency is community property under Tex. Fam. Code Ann. §§ 3.002 and 3.003 (West), Texas law allows the spouse of a deceased taxpayer to represent his estate in this Court. Estate of Berry v. Commissioner, 41 T.C. 702 (1964); Estate of Brewer v. Commissioner, 17 B.T.A. 704 (1929) (same under prior Texas law). However, allowing the surviving spouse to represent the deceased spouse's estate does not affect the disposition of the property of the deceased spouse. See Tex. Est. Code Ann. § 453.003(b) (West 2014).
Additionally, Rule 151 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure provides: "If the plaintiff dies, the heirs, or the administrator or executor of such decedent may appear and upon suggestion of such death being entered of record in open court, may be made plaintiff, and the suit shall proceed in his or their name." Rule 151 reflects longstanding Texas practice. Thus, Texas rules permit the heirs of a decedent, as well as his surviving spouse, to speak for the estate without formal authorization. Indeed, the Court has permitted an heir who was not the surviving spouse to represent a decedent's estate in this Court where the decedent was a resident of Texas. See Beatty v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1980-168.
Giving due regard to the representations made in the parties' filings, it is
ORDERED that petitioners' August 17, 2022, Motion to Substitute Parties and Change Caption is granted. It is further
ORDERED that the caption in this case is changed to read: "William C. Bradley, Deceased, Sally A. Bradley, Surviving Spouse & Sally A. Bradley, Petitioners v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Respondent".