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INTERNATIONAL GIVING BY INDIVIDUALS THROUGH ESTATESexclusively charitable purposes, 46 a gift by bequest to a foreign governmentbody or political subdivision will qualify for a charitable deduction.The essence of this IRS announcement was the basis of a subsequent courtopinion 47 involving the reformation of a provision in a will. The decedent, accordingto the court, had intended the municipality of Kerasitsa, Greece, rather thanhis children, to be the ultimate heir of a hospital, built there from proceeds of thesale of his U.S. real estate. The court generally restated the IRS position:[The IRS] makes no argument that if we find the remainder interest vested insome entity other than decedent’s heirs that the bequest is still outside thebounds of . . . [the federal estate tax charitable deduction]. Petitioner assertsthat the decedent intended for the hospital to pass to the village governmentupon its completion and that this intent establishes the charitable nature ofthe bequest. 48A further demonstration of the utility of the IRS position appears in an IRS privateletter ruling. 49 A court attempted to reform a bequest to meet the estate taxlaw requirements. 50 The IRS determined, however, that for the taxpayer to be ableto reform a nonqualifying charitable remainder trust, the beneficiary designated inthe will had to be an organization or purpose described or defined in the law ofcharity. 51 The State of Israel had been named as the beneficiary. The IRSannounced: “If the beneficiary designated in the will had been a . . . [charitable]organization or purpose, the trust established under the decedent’s will, as conformedby a probate court order, would have constituted a charitable remainderannuity trust.” 52In another instance, an executor of an estate attempted to salvage a bequestof residuary property given in trust to a foreign government. The foreign countryacknowledged that the bequest would be used for an agricultural highschool in that country. The issue was whether the actual charitable use to whichthe funds were to be applied would qualify the gift for the deduction when infact the will had not specifically so directed. The IRS concluded that the “fact[that the foreign country] has agreed to use its gift for charitable purposes doesnot convert an otherwise general gift into a charitable gift.” 53(d) Testamentary Charitable Remainder TrustsA charitable organization to or for the use of which the remainder interest passesmust meet the requirements for the estate tax deduction 54 as well as the remaindertrust rules. 55 Therefore, the charitable entity to which the remainder interest in acharitable remainder annuity trust passes may not be a foreign corporation. 5646 IRC §§ 2055(a)(2) and 2055(a)(3).47 Orphanos Estate v. Commissioner, 67 T.C. 780 (1977).48 Id. at 782.49 Priv. Ltr. Rul. 7938001.50 IRC §§ 2055(a) and 2055(e).51 IRC § 2055(a).52 The charitable remainder annuity trust rules are the subject of Chapter 12.53 Tech. Adv. Mem. 8748001.54 IRC § 2055(a).55 IRC §§ 642(c)(5)(A), 664(d)(1)(C), or 664(d)(2)(C), whichever is applicable.56 Reg. § 20.2055-2(e)(2)(v). 564