18 Mills Surr. 236 | N.Y. Sur. Ct. | 1916
The trustee under a deed of trust executed by the decedent appeals from the order assessing a tax upon her estate. On April 2, 1914, the decedent executed a deed
Ro power of revocation was reserved to the grantor, nor did she retain any right to control or use the property mentioned in the deed. The transfer of the corpus of the trust fund, therefore, was complete upon the delivery of the deed, and its liability to taxation under the provisions of the Transfer Tax Law is to be determined by the law in force at that time. Matter of Webber, 151 App. Div. 539; Matter of Dwight, N. Y. L. J., Oct. 8, 1911, affd., 149 App. Div. 912. If a proceeding had been brought at that time to assess a tax upon the value of the remainder transferred by the deed of trust such value would doubtless be ascertained by deducting the value of decedent’s life estate from the value of the corpus of the trust fund. The transfer having been effected when the deed of trust was executed, the tax upon the remainder was due and payable to the state of Rew York at that time, but as no proceeding was brought to assess a tax upon the remainder passing by virute of the deed of trust until.the death of the donor, and the proceeding then commenced purported to assess a tax upon her entire estate, the appraiser was correct in ascertaining the value of the corpus of the trust fund as of the date of decedent’s death and reporting this as taxable against the
The trustee also contends that in the order assessing tax upon the estate of the decedent the value of the property passing to the various remaindermen by virtue of the deed of trust should not be added to the value of the property passing to them under the provisions of the will of decedent for the purpose of determining the rate of taxation to which the transfer of the interests is liable. Prior to the enactment of chapter 664 of the Laws of 1915 it was held that the value of gifts or legacies transferred by different instruments or at different times should not be added together, but should be taxed separately. Matter of Hodges, 215 N. Y. 441. The property mentioned in the deed of trust executed by the decedent herein having been transferred prior to the date when the amendment effected by chapter 664 of the Laws of 1915 went, into effect, it is not'subject to the provisions of that act and should be taxed separately from the legacies transferred by the will of the decedent. On this point the order fixing