154 Wis. 320 | Wis. | 1913
Lead Opinion
There is no serious dispute on the facts in this case. The burden of proof was upon the plaintiff to
It is undisputed that the deceased was active and healthy in mind and body until about three months before he died. The first large gift was made four and one-half years prior to his death, and the second a few days less than three years before death. All of the gifts were made to his daughter and her husband. Deceased had made his home with his daughter for twenty-two years before he died.
The contention of the appellants is that the gifts were made in contemplation of death and were- in the nature of a final distribution of the estate and are therefore subject to the inheritance tax. The following reasons are urged in support of this contention: (1) The gifts were substantially in accordance with the will of the deceased, made in 1891. (2) They included more than two thirds of a large estate. (3) The deceased had reached an extreme old age. (4) He had surrendered the management of his property and business.
The first, second, and fourth reasons assigned are not very significant. The will gave practically all of the estate to the daughter. As she was his only child, this was a perfectly natural disposition to make of it. If he desired to make substantial gifts, naturally they would be made to her. It is true she would receive the property under the will if the gifts had not been made. She would also receive the estate if no will had been made. These facts do not argue that fhe gifts were made in contemplation of death, as that term is used in the statute. The daughter was a woman of mature years when the first large gift was made. Her age
The material part of the inheritance tax statute, sec. 1087 — 1, is as follows:
“A tax shall be and is hereby imposed upon any transfer of property, real, personal or mixed, or any interest therein, or income therefrom in trust or otherwise, to any person . . . in the following eases:
“(1) When the transfer is by will or by intestate laws of this state from any person dying possessed of the property while a resident of this state.
“(2) • • •
“(3) When the transfer is of property made by a resident . . . by deed, grant, bargain, sale or gift, made in contemplation of death of the grantor, vendor or donor, or intended to take effect in possession or enjoyment at or after such death.”
An act is not done in contemplation of death when the feeling that dissolution is approaching-is absent and is not the cause which impels or prompts the doing of the act.
It was held in State v. Pabst, 139 Wis. 561, 121 N. W. 351, that the words “in contemplation of death” as used in the statute quoted were “not used as referring to that expectation of death generally entertained by every person Speaking affirmatively the opinion proceeds: “The words are evidently intended to refer to an expectation of death which arises from such a bodily or mental condition as prompts persons to dispose of their property and bestow it on those whom they regard as entitled to their bounty.” In further explanation of the phrase it is said: “A gift is made in contemplation of an event when it is made in expectation of that event and having it in view, and a gift made when the donor is looking forward to his death as impending, and in view of that event, is within the language of the statute.” In that case the circuit court held that the gifts made by Captain Pabst were subject to the inheritance tax principally because he was suffering from a serious if not a necessarily fatal disease at the time the gifts were made, which ultimately produced death; and this court affirmed the judgment. The definition of the words “in contemplation of death” given in the Pabst Oase does not differ from that announced by the
“This court has held that the words in contemplation of death do not refer to that general expectation which every mortal entertains, but rather to the apprehension which arises from some existing condition of body or some impending peril.”
Neither does it differ from the interpretation put upon the words by the Illinois court in People v. Burkhalter, 247 Ill. 600, 604, 93 N. E. 379, where it held that contemplation of death must be the impelling motive for making the gift in order that it be subject to an inheritance tax.
It is only gifts made in contemplation of death that are taxable. A parent has the right to give his property to any proper subject for his bounty, freed from any transfer tax, provided the contemplation of death is not the cause which impels the making of the donation.
It is apparent, therefore, that it would be illogical to hold that proof that a person was aged, when he made a gift conclusively establishes that it was- made in contemplation of death. This could not be true if the donor might be actuated by any other motive. Common knowledge and experience teach us that aged.people frequently give property to their children because of their desire to help them, and without any thought in reference to their own deaths. Mr. Carnegie is an old man in years. He has given away what would make several princely fortunes. It could- not be fairly said that the feeling that he must soon-die was the cause that actuated him to give." Instead, it was the pleasure of bestowing a part of his fortune where he conceived it would accomplish much for the uplift and betterment of mankind by furnishing useful 'and healthful reading matter free of charge.
This brings us to the last question in the case, and that
We do not think the court can fix any particular age limit and say that 'after it is reached a party can give his property away only in contemplation of death. In a sense, old age is a relative term. Some men are old at sixty, although they may have no organic disease. Others are vigorous in mind and body at seventy, and still others long after they have passed their eightieth milestone. There are octogenarians among the members of the Dane county bar at the present time. One is as actively engaged in his professional work as he was twenty-five years ago. Another is creditably administering the affairs of an important office. The third is retired from active labor. Chief Justice Fullee performed his arduous labors until he reached the age of seventy-seven. Justice HaelaN did likewise until he was seventy-eight; Justice Field until he was eighty-three; and Chief Justice TaNev until he was past eighty-seven. The venerable ex-Chief Justice LyoN of this court recently died at the age of ninety-one, retaining his bodily and mental vigor until a short time before his death. Ex-Speaker Cannon, now past seventy-seven, is an antagonist who might well command both fear and respect in any forensic encounter in which he might see fit to engage.
Age in itself is not a very important factor in determining the capacity of persons to deal with their property or in
By the Court. — Tbe judgment of tbe .circuit court is affirmed. Inasmuch as tbe State is tbe principal party appellant in interest, no costs will be allowed, except that appellants must pay tbe clerk’s fees in tbis court.
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting). I cannot concur in the affirmance of tbe judgment of tbe circuit court. It seems clear to me that tbe property, amounting to tbe sum of $494,423.29, wbicb decedent transferred as gifts to bis daughter and her husband at tbe times designated in tbe statement of facts by tbe court, is subject to an inheritance tax. There is no dispute in tbe facts. The circuit court concluded as a matter of fact that these gifts were not made in contemplation of death in tbe sense of tbe inheritance tax law. I am
Do the acts of decedent constitute a transfer of his property “in contemplation of his death” in the sense these words are used in the statute? As stated in the court’s opinion these words were interpreted in the Pabst Case (State v. Pabst, 139 Wis. 561, 121 N. W. 351) as referring “to an expectation of death which arises from such a bodily or mental condition as prompts persons to dispose of their property, and bestow it on those whom they regard as entitled to their bounty.” It was there also considered that a gift is deemed to be in contemplation of the event of death when it is made in expectation of it. To my mind, the facts and circumstances of this case clearly indicate that Mr. Dessert, from old age, was in that bodily and mental state which made him conscious of the fact that his demise must occur in the near future as an unavoidable event pursuant to Nature’s immutable laws. I think it is the general experience that such conditions impress men with a greater certainty of impending death than do the aíñictions of illness. I am unable to escape the conviction that the fact of impending death from old age, under the circumstances shown in this case, actuated Mr. Dessert in making these gifts.