Checks that were signed by the decedent’s agent and delivered before the death of the decedent but were not paid from the decedent’s account before death were not completed gifts under Pennsylvania law and so the amounts of the checks were still part of the federal taxable estate. The checks were also not gifts causa mortis because there was insufficient evidence that the decedent (and not the agent) believed he was about to die and had made the gifts in contemplation of his expected death. Estate of Demuth v. Commissioner, 2023 U.S.App. LEXIS 17613, No. 22-3032 (3rd Cir. 7/12/2023) (non-precedential).

[DBE Note: Although the decision was a federal estate tax dispute, the same principles would presumably apply for Pennsylvania inheritance tax purposes.]