173 A. 880 | Pa. Super. Ct. | 1934
Argued April 17, 1934. Clarence V. Elliott, a resident of this State, died intestate October 24, 1931. Letters of administration on his estate were granted to the appellees, Clarence C. Gallagher and William Alt. Among the effects of the decedent which came into their control and possession as administrators were the contents of a safe deposit box, consisting of cash and securities of the appraised value of $21,104. These were included in the inventory and appraisement of the estate filed by the administrators, and in the appraisal for transfer, or inheritance, tax purposes made by the Commonwealth's agents, and a tax of ten per cent or $2,110.40 assessed, which the administrators paid, less a discount of five per cent for prompt payment, making a net payment of $2,004.88.
The administrators included these securities in their account and took credit for the tax so paid, $2,004.88 and in their recommendation for adjudication asked that the entire net balance of the estate, be awarded to the next of kin, collateral relatives of the decedent. One Teresa Salandra filed exceptions, and claimed that the decedent, less than two days before his death and after he had been told by his attending physician that he was going to die, had made her a gift causa mortis of the contents of the safe deposit box aforesaid and had effected constructive delivery thereof by handing her the keys to the box which was then in the bank vault. The orphans' court rejected her claim, but on appeal to the Supreme Court the decree was reversed in so far as it denied her the right *353
"to the money and securities found in the safe deposit box, together with the dividends which have accrued on these securities since the decedent's death, and they [were] awarded to her, free of all costs of administration." Elliott's Est.,
She advances three contentions:
1 — That a gift causa mortis is not subject to the transfer tax on property passing from a decedent, or grantor, under the Act of June 20, 1919, P.L. 521 and its amendments.
2 — That if subject it must be paid out of the estate, and not by the donee causa mortis.
3 — That the orphans' court had no jurisdiction to order the tax to be deducted and paid from the award in her favor.
We think the case was rightly decided.
1 — Whether the title to the Act of June 20, 1919, P.L. 521, providing for the imposition and collection of certain taxes upon the transfer of property passing from a decedent, who was a resident of this Commonwealth at the time of his death, etc., was broad enough to include a transfer of property made by a resident by a "gift made in contemplation of death" of the donor, and executed by a valid gift causa mortis, (See Spangler's Est.,
2 — Unless the will, deed, grant or gift expressly *355
provide otherwise the transfer tax is ultimately payable by the legatee, grantee or donee, or out of the property or estate passing to him: Act of June 20, 1919, supra, secs. 2, 3, 14, 16, 19, 20; Coxe's Est.,
3 — This was not a case within the rule declared in Cutler's Est.,
The assignments of error are overruled and the decree is affirmed at the costs of the appellant.