Kenin's Estate

41 Pa. D. & C. 572, 1941 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 351
Pennsylvania Orphans' Court, Philadelphia County·Decided June 13, 1941·No. no. 236 of 1935·Published

Opinion

Stearne, J.,

These are exceptions to-an account of a corporate trustee of an insurance trust..

Two principal questions are raised:

(a) Whether the trust is testamentary in character,, and therefore subject to settlor’s creditors, and

(b) Whether settlor was insolvent when he erected the insurance trust, and if so, whether such trust was invalid..

The auditor found that the trust was testamentary in character and that settlor was insolvent when the trust-was created. He awarded the fund to the executors of the-estate of settlor.

Settlor executed a deed of trust on April 12, 1929,. whereby he transferred five policies of life insurance upon the life of settlor, aggregating $100,000, to the trustee:

“In trust to collect the proceeds of the said policies upon, maturity and pay over the same unto the Trustees named in the last Will and Testament of the Settlor to be thereafter held by them under the same uses and trusts and. with like distribution as in said Will set forth with reference to the residuary estate of the Settlor.”

On the same day he executed his will wherein he named three trustees, and disposed of his residuary estate as. follows:

“Twelfth. All the rest, residue and remainder of my estate, of whatsoever nature and wheresoever situated I give, devise and bequeath unto my trustees hereinafter • named In Trust to hold and invest the same and keep the ■ same safely invested and.pay over the income therefrom one-third thereof unto my wife, Sarah Kenin, for life,, and as to the remaining two-thirds of such income and the • whole thereof upon the death of my wife, to assign, trans- - for and pay over the same to and among my descendants living at each period of distribution, share and share.[575]*575alike, Per Stirpes upon the principal of representation, until the death of the last survivor of my children, at which time, subject, of course, to the interest of my wife, if still living, I direct that my estate he distributed to and among my descendants then living, share and share alike, Per Stirpes upon the principal of representation.

“In Trust should there be no descendants of mine living at the time of the death of the last survivor of my children, subject, of course, to the interest of my wife, to assign, transfer, pay over and divide my residuary estate to and among such charities or charitable institutions and in such shares and proportions as my trustees or the survivor or survivors of them may determine.”

Decedent (settlor and testator) died June 1,1929 (less than two months thereafter).

The executors of decedent’s estate filed their account, which was adjudicated February 19, 1934. The estate was insolvent, and a dividend of approximately 10 percent was paid to creditors.

On January 30, 1935, the trustee of the inter vivos insurance trust filed its account, which, by agreement of the parties, was referred to an auditor, whose report was filed April 24, 1941, the exceptions to which are now before us for determination.

We agree with the learned auditor that this deed of trust is testamentary in character. It, therefore, follows that the fund passes into settlor’s estate, and forms part thereof, and is payable to his executors.

In determining whether an instrument is testamentary, intention is important: Fidelity Trust Co., Admr., v. Union National Bank of Pittsburgh et al., 313 Pa. 467, 490. We are therefore required to ascertain exactly what this settlor intended to accomplish by his deed. It would seem to be well established that where there is an immediate and absolute transfer of the res to a trustee for the use or benefit of named or presently ascertainable individuals or purposes, the trust is not testamentary in character. Conversely, where there is no immediate transfer, [576]*576or if the beneficiaries are not named or presently ascertainable, but such ascertainment depends upon the terms of a will or other testamentary disposition, effective only after death, the trust is testamentary in character.

In Windolph v. Girard Trust Co., 245 Pa. 349, and Beirne v. Continental-Equitable Title & Trust Co., 307 Pa. 570, there was an immediate transfer for the benefit of named beneficiaries. Such trusts were held not to be testamentary. Reservation by settlor of a life estate, with power to modify or revoke the trust, does not overcome the effect of an absolute transfer, and render the scheme testamentary: Wilson et ux. v. Anderson et al., 186 Pa. 531; Reiff’s Estate, 16 Pa. Superior Ct. 80; Reese’s Estate, 317 Pa. 473.

Where, however, there is no absolute transfer the trust is testamentary: Tunnell’s Estate, 325 Pa. 554. See Beaumont’s Estate, 214 Pa. 445, 448, and Chestnut Street National Bank v. Fidelity Insurance Trust & Safe Deposit Co., etc., et al., 186 Pa. 333. See also A. L. I. Restatement of Trusts, §§56, 57, and the Pennsylvania annotations thereto.

In the instant case the trustee’s sole duty was to collect the proceeds of the insurance policies and pay same unto “the trustees named in the last will and testament of the settlor ...” The beneficiaries were not named or ascertained in the trust deed, and could not be ascertained until after the death. Determination of beneficiaries was dependent upon the terms of a will, which is a wholly ambulatory document. Any testamentary disposition in existence at the time of the erection of the inter vivos trust was therefore subject to revocation, alteration, or change, and was effective only after death.

We are, therefore, irresistibly drawn to the conclusion that as the manifest intention of settlor was to distribute the proceeds of these policies, after his death, under the same uses and trusts, and with like distribution as provided by his will, his scheme was in essence testamentary.

[577]*577It is forcefully argued that reference in the deed to the will incorporated into the deed all the provisions of the will, with the same effect as if the testamentary provisions were actually written in the deed itself; in other words, that settlor erected what is termed a “Referential Trust”. A referential trust has been defined as a trust which is created by one instrument which refers to another and incorporates the terms of the latter into the former: 131 L. T. 264 (Eng.); Padfield v. Padfield et al., 72 Ill. 322. Of course, this settlor’s will is incorporated by reference into the deed, but this does not solve the present inquiry. As the will was ambulatory, and the beneficiaries are not ascertainable until after testator’s death, no present and immediate interest was assigned, and the scheme still remained testamentary in character, and effective only after death.

An almost similar factual situation as exists in this case arose in Myers’ Estate, 309 Pa. 581, and upon the authority thereof the learned auditor largely relied. The question was whether the proceeds of a very similar insurance trust were subject to Pennsylvania transfer inheritance tax under the Acts of June 20, 1919, P. L. 521, and March 28, 1929, P. L. 118. The taxing acts imposed the tax where the transfer was intended to take effect at or after death, and exempted life insurance proceeds where held in trust “for the benefit of” persons or classes of persons under such trust agreement. When the case was before this court (16 D. & C.

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Kenin's Estate, 41 Pa. D. & C. 572, 1941 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 351 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1941).

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