Following up on Thursday's post, Deductibility of Michael Jackson's Funeral Expenses, we note in the new edition of our casebook, Federal Wealth Transfer Taxation 505 (Foundation Press, 6th ed. 2009):

In Estate of Davenport v. Commissioner, 92 T.C.M. 324 (2006), the Tax Court disallowed a claimed $3,639 deduction for a “funeral luncheon”:

“[T]he record is likewise insufficient to establish the requisite necessity in connection with decedent’s funeral. From the testimony at trial, it is to be inferred that the focus of the luncheon was on recognizing and thanking third parties for their support both during decedent's life and after her passing. That represents a shift from the traditional focus of a funeral in eulogizing and laying to rest the deceased. The evidence, consisting only of broad and generalized statements about the intent of the luncheon, deprives the Court of any ability to compare what may in fact have transpired there with activities typically associated with funeral services.”