38 A.2d 30 | Pa. | 1944
This is an appeal by the Commonwealth from the decree of the court below sustaining the appeal of the executors of the Estate of Margaret Ramsay Jones, deceased, and Robert Ramsay Jones, Erskine Ramsay Jones, Margaret Jones Brooks and Janet Jones Teal, beneficiaries under a deed of trust executed by Margaret Ramsay Jones, from the action of the appraisers of said *122 estate in including as an asset the corpus of the said trust for the purpose of imposing inheritance tax.
On May 31, 1932, three irrevocable deeds of trust were executed, each transferring a $50,000 bond of Alabama By-Products Corporation to The First National Bank and Trust Company of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, by (1) Margaret Ramsay Jones, decedent herein, providing for the payment of income to her brother Robert Ramsay for life, the principal to be distributed among named beneficiaries who were in fact the natural heirs of Robert Ramsay; by William Ramsay, providing for the payment of income to his sister, Margaret Ramsay Jones, decedent herein, for life, the principal to be distributed among named beneficiaries who were in fact the natural heirs of Margaret Ramsay Jones; (3) by Robert Ramsay, providing for the payment of income to his brother, William Ramsay, for life, the principal to be distributed among named beneficiaries who were in fact the natural heirs of William Ramsay. One Erskine Ramsay of Birmingham, Alabama, came to Pennsylvania and consulted with his brothers, Robert and William Ramsay, and sister, Margaret Ramsay Jones, as a result of which he delivered to the First National Bank of Greensburg three $50,000 bonds of the Alabama By-Products Corporation to be turned over to them. Upon the execution of all trust agreements by the Trust Company the bonds were allocated to the respective trusts.
Margaret Ramsay Jones died August 6, 1942. An appraisement of her estate was duly made for the purpose of ascertaining the inheritance tax due the Commonwealth wherein was included the trust fund in question, valued at $49,625. Appeal was taken from said appraisement. The court below concluded that Erskine Ramsay was the settlor of the three trusts and that, therefore, the corpus of the trust here involved was not properly a part of decedent's estate. The Auditor General, by his appraiser, was directed to strike from his appraisement the item designated as " 'Trust Fund' appraised at $49,625.00." This appeal followed. *123
Consideration must first be given to the finding of the court below that "the real donor of all the funds under these trust agreements was Erskine Ramsay. None of the nominal donors had title to or possession of any of these securities prior to the creation of the trusts." The findings of an auditing judge, approved by the court en banc, must be considered as the verdict of a jury, and will not be reversed if supported by evidence or reasonable inferences therefrom: Walton's Estate,
The question is whether a deed of trust is properly assessed for transfer inheritance tax purposes where it is one of three similar deeds of trust executed simultaneously with a common trustee, the effect of which transaction is to secure to each of the settlors income for their respective lives, with remainder to their respective heirs at law, of property in amount and character identical with that conveyed.
The Act of 1919, P. L. 521, Article I, Section 1, as finally amended by the Act of 1936, P. L. 44,
The effect of the creation of these trusts is to secure to each settlor income in an amount equal to that which he has transferred. Circumstances must be considered with regard to substance, not form: McKeown's Estate,
The decree of the court below is reversed. Costs to be paid by appellees.