Bowen v. Commissioner

34 T.C. 222, 1960 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 154
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedMay 17, 1960
DocketDocket Nos. 69452, 69453, 69454
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 34 T.C. 222 (Bowen v. Commissioner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Tax Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bowen v. Commissioner, 34 T.C. 222, 1960 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 154 (tax 1960).

Opinion

OPINION.

Apotndell, Judge:

Respondent determined deficiencies in income tax for the taxable year ended December 31,1951, against petitioners as follows:

No. Petitioner Deficiency
69452 Martin Raymond Bowen_,_$1,196.12
69453 Mary Jane Tucker_ 1,196.12
69454 Estate of S. Lewis Tim, Evelyn W. Bowen, Administratrix_ 3,458.28

The issues are: (1) Whether certain moneys paid to the Estate of S. Lewis Tim in 1951 pursuant to a judgment of the Monmouth County Court, Probate Division, at Freehold, New Jersey, were taxable income and, if so, (2) whether such moneys are taxable to the petitioning estate or to the other two petitioners.

We find the facts as stipulated and set forth only those deemed necessary in reaching our decision.

S. Lewis Tim was the father of petitioners Mary Jane Tucker (formerly Mary Jane Bowen, formerly Mary Jane Tim), and Martin Raymond Bowen (formerly Martin Rice Tim). S. Lewis Tim was married to Evelyn W. Tim (now Evelyn W. Bowen) on April 30, 1929. Martin and Mary were twin children of the marriage and were born July 25, 1935. The parents were divorced May 22, 1939, and on September 16, 1939, S. Lewis Tim died a resident of the State -of New Jersey. The infant children, Martin and Mary, lived with their mother in the State of New York.

By the terms of the will of S. Lewis Tim, the children received nothing, the entire net estate going to his father, Louis B. Tim, and his mother, Edna R. Tim, in equal shares. The will was admitted to probate in the Surrogate’s Court of Monmouth County, Freehold, New Jersey, and letters testamentary were issued decedent’s father, Louis B. Tim, on the 25th day of October 1939.

As provided for in the will of S. Lewis Tim, his father and executor, Louis B. Tim, distributed equally the net estate, amounting to $65,936.07, to himself and his wife, Edna R. Tim.

During the period 1940-1945, Louis B. Tim and Edna R. Tim paid to Evelyn W. Bowen, the mother of the infants, for the infants’ benefit, a total sum of $16,281.78 which represented the approximate income from the securities left by the decedent, S. Lewis Tim, during that period.

The mother of the infants remarried on December 12, 1940, and upon the adoption of the infants on June 20, 1945, by her husband, Stephen Bowen, the payments by Louis B. Tim and Edna B. Tim were discontinued.

On or about February 1, 1948, it was ascertained that the will under which Louis B. Tim was acting as executor was invalid due to the nonage of his son, S. Lewis Tim, and that therefore the property of the decedent passed by intestacy to his two infant children. Accordingly, judgment was entered in the Monmouth County Court, Probate Division, on December 2,1948, setting aside the will and the letters testamentary issued thereon and directing Louis B. Tim to account to the Estate of S.' Lewis Tim. Evelyn W. Bowen, the mother of the infants, was appointed administratrix of the Estate of S. Lewis Tim on January 4, 1949.

The accounting proceeding disclosed that most of the securities owned by the decedent at the time of his death had been sold and that the proceeds had been commingled with the personal holdings of Louis B. Tim and Edna K. Tim and accordingly were unidentifiable. In the first and final account of Louis B. Tim as executor, Louis B. Tim accounted for the income received by him on all the stock owned by the decedent until the time of the sale by him of such stock. He accounted for income on the balance of the corpus, which had been intermingled with his own, by charging himself with interest at the rate of 2% per cent. The special guardian of the infant children objected to the executor’s charging himself at the rate of 2% per cent and in exception No. 8 stated that it was “wholly arbitrary, unlawful and improper for the reasons that the securities which came to the hands of the accountant paid a far greater rate and the full amount of said return should be accounted for.” Evelyn W. Bowen as administratrix also filed exceptions to the account, exception No. 8 being:

The accountant charges himself for income, on the basis of the amount reported in said account, at the rate of 2Y2 per cent per annum. The amount of income with which accountant should charge himself should be in excess of 2Vz per. cent and on the basis of what the principal of the estate could have earned during the period for which the accountant so charges himself.

On August 6,1951, the Monmouth County Court entered its “Judgment Allowing Account and Adjudicating Upon Exceptions” in the matter of the Estate of S. Lewis Tim, Deceased. The judgment is in part as follows:

6. That Exception No. 8 of the Stipulation aforesaid of the administratrix and Exception No. 8 of the guardian ad litem be sustained and allowed to require the accountant to charge himself with interest at the rate of 4.291 per cent on the principal proceeds received by the accountant upon the sales of the securities of the decedent’s estate from the dates of the respective sales thereof to June 22, 1951, which total amount of interest is hereby fixed at $16,931.46 * * *
6. That accountant be allowed a credit for interest at the rate of 4.291 per cent on the sum of $57,438.83, the sum already paid by the accountant to the administratrix from the date of said payment on June 13, 1949, to June 22, 1951, the date of the final hearing hereon, which total amount of interest is hereby fixed at $4,991.02.

The $11,940.44 adjustment here involved results from the difference between the $16,931.46 and the $4,991.02 referred to in the above-mentioned judgment. This amount of $11,940.44 was paid to the administratrix on August 29, 1951.

The administratrix was unable to distribute to the special guardian of the infant children any of the moneys received from Louis B. Tim and Edna K. Tim, including the $11,940.44 here involved, without first instituting special proceedings in accordance with Title 3A, chapter 23, sections 1-5, of the New Jersey Kevised Statutes.

Proceedings were instituted by the administratrix pursuant to the above-mentioned provisions of the New Jersey Eevised Statutes and, on November 7, 1952, the Monmouth County Court entered its judgment authorizing the removal from the State of the moneys held by the administratrix, including the $11,940.44 here in question. The administratrix paid the $11,940.44 to the special guardian of the infant children on March 16, 1953.

Louis B. Tim and Edna K. Tim claimed and were allowed by the respondent an interest deduction in the amount of $11,940.44 on their 1951 Federal income tax return.

No Federal income tax returns were filed by petitioners for the taxable year 1951.

The respondent determined that the full amount of $11,940.44 should be included in the gross income of the Estate of S. Lewis Tim for the taxable year 1951; and that one-half of that amount, or $5,970.22, should be included in the gross income of each of the other petitioners for the year 1951.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Estate of Bryan v. Commissioner
1963 T.C. Memo. 182 (U.S. Tax Court, 1963)
Bowen v. Commissioner
295 F.2d 816 (Second Circuit, 1961)
Bowen v. Commissioner
34 T.C. 222 (U.S. Tax Court, 1960)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
34 T.C. 222, 1960 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 154, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bowen-v-commissioner-tax-1960.