Bryant v. Commissioner

14 T.C. 127, 1950 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 284
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedJanuary 31, 1950
DocketDocket No. 20667
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 14 T.C. 127 (Bryant 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
Bryant v. Commissioner, 14 T.C. 127, 1950 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 284 (tax 1950).

Opinion

OPINION.

Leech, Judge:

The respondent has determined deficiencies in income and victory tax for the calendar year 1943 in the total of $2,353.31, and a deficiency in income tax for the calendar year 1944 in the sum of $1,221.05. Deficiencies for both of these years arise from respondent’s action in including in petitioner’s income for those years certain dividends received by the trustee of a trust of which the petitioner was a secondary income beneficiary and remainderman.

The proceeding was submitted upon a stipulation of facts, which we find as stipulated.

The petitioner resides in North Carolina and filed her tax returns for the taxable years 1943 and 1944 with the collector of internal revenue for the district of North Carolina.

S. E. Moorhead, father of the petitioner, died a resident of the City, County, and State of New York on September 25, 1931, leaving a last will and testament, which was duly admitted to probate by the surrogate’s court of said county, and in and by the tenth item of which he made the following bequest:

Item Tenth. I give and bequeath unto the Guaranty Trust Company of New Yoek, and to its sucessors, twenty-five hundred (25C0) shares of the Capital Stock B of Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company, of which I am now the owner, In Trust Nevertheless, to hold the same and collect and receive the income and profits thereon, to deduct therefrom the statutory commissions of the “Trustee” and the proper and necessary expenses in connection with the administration of the trust, and from the net income derived therefrom, and any deficiency thereof from the principal, to pay the sum of Ten Thousand ($10,000.00) Dollars each year in quarter annual installments, to my beloved wife, Anna Johnston Moorhead, of the City of New York, for and during her natural life or so long as she remains my widow, and the remainder of the net income, if any therefrom, to my said daughter, Edith Moorhead Bryant, her executors, administrators and assigns.
Upon the death or remarriage of my said wife, Anna Johnston Moorhead, the trust created hereunder shall terminate, and upon such termination thereof I direct my said “Trustee” to pay, convey, assign, set over and deliver the principal of said “trust fund”, or so much thereof as then remains, less statutory commissions, unto my said daughter, Edith Moorhead Bryant, her executors, administrators and assigns.
The trust created for the benefit of my said wife, Anna Johnston Moorhead, under this item of my will is in lieu of the provisions made for her by antenuptial agreement dated January 14th, 1914.

Item eleventli of the will provided as follows:

Item Eleventh. My “Trustee” shall not, without the approval and consent in writing of my said daughter, Edith Moorhead Bryant, dispose of the stock left to it in trust, and in the event of the disposal of the same with the consent of my said daughter shall invest the proceeds thereof in securities of the character authorized by the laws of the State of New York for trust investments unless the written consent and approval of my said daughter to otherwise invest shall be given, it being understood, however, that in the event of a reorganization or the change of the said securities by the Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company my “Trustee” shall be empowered to receive such stocks or securities as may be given in exchange therefor.

The Guaranty Trust Co. of New York duly qualified as trustee of the trust, and, as such trustee, received on May 12,1932, the 2,500 shares of the common B stock of Liggett & Myers Tobacco Co. to be held and administered by it in accordance with the terms and provisions of items tenth and eleventh of the will.

In the year 1932 the trustee received from the executors of the last will and testament of S. E. Moorhead, deceased, for distribution in accordance with the terms and provisions of the aforesaid trust, the sum of $7,500 and interest in the sum of $19.80. Thereafter, for the years 1933 to 1942, inclusive, the trustee received as gross income from the trust estate in its possession the following amounts:

1933_$12,267.67 1938_$12,513.41
1934_ 12, 600. 00 1939_ 12,504.05
1936_ 12, 500. 58 1940_ 12, 504. 20
1936_ 17, 502. 69 1941_ 12,504.00
1937_ 15, 015.20 1942_ 8, 739.15

All this income was disbursed by the trustee prior to December 31,1942, by distribution to Anna J. Moorhead and Edith M. Bryant, and the payment of commissions and other expenses of the trust.

Anna Johnston Moorhead, stepmother of the petitioner and primary life beneficiary of the trust, survived the testator and died a resident of the City, County and State of New York on October 17,1943, without having remarried.

Except as set forth above, the trustee did not actually distribute any part of the principal or any part of the income of the trust to the petitioner as remainderman or otherwise until on or about April 3, 1944, when the remainder of the trust corpus, together with income in the hands of the trustee amounting to $186.71, was transferred, assigned, paid over and delivered to the petitioner as her absolute property.

In the year 1943 the trustee received gross income amounting to $8,857.30, $5,801.05 of which was received by the trustee prior to October 17,1943, the date of death of the life beneficiary, and $3,056.25 of which was received thereafter on December 1, 1943. Between January 1, 1944, and the date of actual distribution of the assets of the trust to the petitioner, the trustee received gross income in the amount of $1,837.58, and during that period from the funds received by it as income subsequent to October 17, 1943, it made the following disbursements, other than the cash disbursements made to this petitioner at the time she received the assets representing the principal of the trust:

1944 •
Mar. 1 Collector of internal revenue representing payment of 1943 Federal income tax on capital gains_. $8.30
10 Federal and state stamp taxes for transfer of 2,445 shares of I/iggett & Myers Tobacco Co. stock_ 105. 90
31 Guaranty Trust Co. of New York principal commissions on termination of trust_3,364.43
Apr. 3 Cost of postage and insurance incurred in connection with the shipment of Liggett & Myers Tobacco Co. stock to Edith M. Bryant_ 7.17
4 Gwinn & Pell payment of bill dated February 5, 1944 for legal services in preparing termination papers for the trust_ 300. 00
5 Estate of Anna ,T. Moorhead representing income accrued through October 17,1943_ 602. 74
12 New York State Tax Commission representing payment of 1943 New York State income tax______ 93.56
Apr.

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Related

Estate of Bruchmann, etc. v. Commissioner
53 T.C. 403 (U.S. Tax Court, 1969)
Estate of Beck v. Commissioner
1960 T.C. Memo. 65 (U.S. Tax Court, 1960)
Rand v. Commissioner
33 T.C. 548 (U.S. Tax Court, 1959)
Coachman v. Commissioner
16 T.C. 1432 (U.S. Tax Court, 1951)
Bryant v. Commissioner
14 T.C. 127 (U.S. Tax Court, 1950)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
14 T.C. 127, 1950 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 284, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bryant-v-commissioner-tax-1950.