1945 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 90">*90 Decision will be entered for respondent.
Decedent created a trust in 1911, reserving the income to himself for life. At his death the corpus was to be paid to his surviving children and the surviving issue by way of representation of any children that predeceased him. He was survived by his wife, one son, and one grandchild. Held, the corpus is includible in his estate as a transfer intended to take effect in possession or enjoyment at death.
5 T.C. 699">*700 OPINION.
The Commissioner determined a deficiency in estate tax in the amount of $ 9,914.08. The issue is whether the corpus of a trust created by the decedent is to be included in his gross estate as a transfer intended to take effect in possession or enjoyment at death within the meaning of
The facts are found as stipulated, with the sole addition of the actuarial value, and may be summarized as follows:
Stanley Gray Horan is the executor of the estate of Thomas P. Leaman, deceased. He resides at Great River, New York. The estate tax return was filed by the executor with the collector of internal revenue for the first district of New York.
On July 1, 1911, the decedent, then 31 years of age, transferred certain property in trust, the value of which on the date of his death, December 7, 1941, was $ 90,406.51. The income of the trust was to be paid to the settlor during his life. At his death the corpus was to be conveyed by the trustee to1945 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 90">*92 such children of the settlor as survived him and by way of representation to the issue surviving him of any of his children who predeceased him. The trust was irrevocable. It was not made in contemplation of death. There was also a provision that if the settlor left a widow he could appoint by will up to one-third of the corpus to her. At the date of the creation of the trust decedent had two sons, one born in 1907 and the other in 1904. He left surviving him his widow, one son born in 1904, and an 8-year old daughter of that son. By his will the decedent exercised the reserved power of appointment for his widow. The actuarial value of decedent's possibility of reverter just prior to his death at age 61 was $ 1,139.12.
The main issue is whether the corpus of a trust created by the decedent in 1911 is to be included in the decedent's gross estate under
Unlike
At the time of decedent's death only two lives stood between decedent and a reversion, "a far cry from the 'remoteness' found to exist in such cases as
We have here the further factor of a reversionary interest remaining in the decedent by operation of law rather than expressly retained. In discussing
* * * The Third Circuit's refusal to extend the Hallock case to a remote reverter contingent upon the survival of the grantor's own next of kin is understandable. It is doubtful, however, whether the rule of that case is dependent upon an express reservation in the trust instrument. A string or tie supplied by a rule of law is as effective as one expressly retained in the trust instrument. [Emphasis supplied.]
1945 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 90">*95 Where the grantor transfers property in trust for A for life and makes no provision for the disposition of the property at A's death, there remains in the grantor a reversion which passes to his heirs at death. This reversion remains in the grantor by operation of law and nothing is added to the dispositive effect of the instrument by adding such words as "on the death of A the corpus is to be returned to the grantor." The reversion is a part of his gross estate under
Since the entire value of the corpus is includible in the gross estate,
Decision will1945 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 90">*97 be entered for respondent.
Footnotes
1. Followed in
Estate of Charles Delaney, 1 T.C. 781 ; affirmed without written opinion (C. C. A., 3d Cir.);Estate of Joseph K. Cass, 3 T.C. 562 . Cf.Eldridge v. Rothensies↩, 150 Fed. (2d) 23 .