Problem
Melody inherited 1,000 shares of Corporation Zappa stock from her mother who died on March 4 of the current year. Her mother paid $30 per share for the stock on September 2, 2005. The FMV of the stock on the date of death was $65 per share. On September 4 of the current year, the FMV of the stock was $70 per share. Melody sold the stock for $85 per share on December 3. The estate qualified for, and the executor elected, the alternate valuation method for these and other assets in the estate. An estate tax return was filed. What was Melody's basis in the stock on the date of the sale?