DEEM
deem,vb.1. To treat (something) as if (1) it were really something else, or (2) it had qualities
that it does not have <although the document was not in fact signed until April 21, it explicitly
states that it must be deemed to have been signed on April 14>.2. To consider, think, or judge <she
deemed it necessary>.
“ ‘Deem’ has been traditionally considered to be a useful word when it is necessary to
establish a legal fiction either positively by ‘deeming’ something to be what it is not or negatively
by ‘deeming’ something not to be what it is…. All other uses of the word should be avoided ….
Phrases like ‘if he deems fit’ or ‘as he deems necessary’ or ‘nothing in this Act shall be deemed
to … ’ are objectionable as unnecessary deviations from common language. ‘Thinks’ or ‘considers’
are preferable in the first two examples and ‘construed’ or ‘interpreted’ in the third…. ‘Deeming’
creates an artificiality and artificiality should not be resorted to if it can be avoided.” G.C.
Thornton, Legislative Drafting 99 (4th ed. 1996).
DEEMED TRANSFEROR
deemed transferor.Tax. A person who holds an interest in a generation-skipping trust on
behalf of a beneficiary, and whose death will trigger the imposition of a generation-skipping
transfer tax. • A deemed transferor is often a child of the settlor. For example, a grandfather could D
establish a trust with income payable for life to his son (who, because he is only one generation
away from his father, is also known as a nonskip person) with the remainder to his grandson, a
beneficiary also known as the skip person. When the son dies, the trust will be included in his
gross estate for determining the generation-skipping transfer tax. IRC (26 USCA) §§ 2601–2663.
See GENERATION-SKIPPING TRANSFER; generation-skipping transfer tax under TAX;
generation-skipping trust under TRUST; SKIP PERSON; NONSKIP PERSON. [Blacks Law 8th]