Opinion ID: 2966691
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Deletion of the Created Requirement

Text: The Government next argues that because the 1981 Amendment eliminated the requirement that the joint interest be created by the decedent, the decedent's spouse, or both, the requirements of § 2040(b)(1) have been substantively changed. That is, because the 1981 Amendment removed the requirement that the joint interest be created by the decedent, it makes no sense to require that the joint interest be created after December 31, 1976. The Government is therefore again arguing for an implied repeal, attempting to demonstrate that one action taken by Congress requires that we find Congress meant to take another. Again, the Government's argument proves neither anirreconcilable conflict between § 2040(b)(1) and§ 2040(b)(2) nor that § 2040(b)(2) covers the whole subject matter of § 2040(b)(1). Instead, the Government makes only another general argument concerning congressional intent, which is insufficient unless one of the two conditions for implied repeal is satisfied. More fundamentally, the Government does not prove a necessary connection between removing the requirement that the joint interest becreated by the decedent, the decedent's spouse, or both and repealing the effective date of the 1976 Amendment. As explained by Patten,what became irrelevant after the 1981 amendment was how the spousal joint interest was created, not when it was created. (Appellee's Br. at 23.) We agree. The 1981 Amendment can be squared with the effective date of the 1976 Amendment simply by reading § 2040(b)(1) to apply only to interests created by anyone -- not just the decedent, the decedent's spouse, or both -- after December 31, 1976. We therefore reject the Government's argument here as well.