When Can an Estate Take a Charitable Deduction for Gifts to Charity?

Tax Girl:  “Taxpayer asks:  Can you tell me what the tax implications are for donating inherited items? My mother passed away about a year ago and I’m the executor of the estate. Now, my siblings are interested in taking deductions for items they feel they “inherited,” yet were actually immediately donated to charity without my siblings ever having taken actual possession of the items. Is this legal? No documentation exists showing a transfer of the property to the beneficiaries so it could be argued that the items were actually donated by the Estate.  Taxgirl says:  I can’t tell you how many times this comes up in an estate