Mack Estate

74 Pa. D. & C. 385, 1949 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 24
CourtPennsylvania Orphans' Court, Allegheny County
DecidedFebruary 10, 1949
DocketNo. 4,402 of 1940
StatusPublished

This text of 74 Pa. D. & C. 385 (Mack Estate) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Orphans' Court, Allegheny County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mack Estate, 74 Pa. D. & C. 385, 1949 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 24 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1949).

Opinion

Boyle, J.,

In the above-entitled estate the Pennsylvania estate tax and the Federal [386]*386estate tax have been paid with interest by the executors. The taxes and interest are now to be apportioned-under the provisions of the Act of July 2, 1937, P. L. 2762, 20 PS §844.

Decedent died testate on September 27, 1940. The will was duly probated in the office of the Register of Wills of Allegheny County, being recorded in Will Book, vol. 249, page 102. Letters testamentary were granted to the executors on October 4, 1940.

The executors filed their first account on June 1, 1944. On October 16, 1944, contemporaneously with the audit of the first account, the executors filed their petition for proration of Pennsylvania estate tax and Federal estate tax.

The total valuation of the gross estate for Federal estate tax purposes is $7,703,034.72.

After allowances for specific exemptions and permitted deductions, the executors paid to the United States a Federal estate tax of $2,222,823.63 plus interest in the sum'of $67,712.72.

The Pennsylvania estate tax (the tax levied and assessed under the provisions of the Act of May 7,1927, P. L. 869), as finally determined and paid, amounted to $336,964.23 plus interest in the sum of $3,408.26.

Included in decedent’s net tax estate for Federal estate tax purposes were : (a) Property passing under decedent’s will and (b) property not passing under decedent’s will (including jointly held real estate, proceeds of life insurance policies, life insurance and property constituting trusts created by decedent during his lifetime).

The property (and its value for Federal estate tax purposes as finally determined) passing under decedent’s will and included in the gross tax estate, with the names of - the respective beneficiaries thereof, is as follows:

[387]*387Determined Name of Tax Value Paragraph of Will Beneficiary of Property
Second Margaret L. Mack „ 1,729.50
Third John Gordon Mack 125.00
Fourth James S. Mack 210.00
Fifth Margaret L. Mack 267,000.00
Sixth
Life Estate in Indiana Co.
Real Es-state $81,849.25
Less Deductions 36,485.02 Margaret L. Mack 45,364.23
Sixth
Remainder in Indiana Co.
Real es-state 104,150.75
Less Deductions 46,426.11 James S. Mack 57,724.64
Eighth
(b) 620,875.00 — James S. Mack
620,875.00 — John Gordon Mack
1,241,750.00
Less deduction for charities 474,375.00 767,375.00
Eighth
Remainder of Estate 4,698,711.87
Less deductions 868,953.66 James S. Mack et al. 3,829,758.21
Total Tax Value of
Testamentary Property $4,969,286.58

Property not passing under the will of decedent but included in the gross estate for Federal estate tax pur[388]*388poses, together with the tax valuation and the names of the respective beneficiaries, is the following:

Net Taxable Kind of Property Beneficiary Valuation Value
1.Life Insurance Margaret L. Mack $ 4,205.17
Less pro rata exemption 548.00
3,657.17
2. Entireties Real Estate Margaret L. Mack 1,355.00 1,355.00
3. Life Insurance John Gordon Mack 4,798.50
Less pro rata exemption 628.00
4,170,50
4.Life Insurance James S. Mack 4,798.50
Less pro rata exemption 628.00
4,170.50
5.Life Insurance Trust dated Apr. 28, 1933; Commonwealth Trust Co., trustee (exhibit C) 292,609.92
Less charitable deductions 119,016.53
173,593.39
Less pro rata exemption 38,196.00
- 135,397.39
( Commonwealth Trust Co. is trustee in the following.)
John Gordon Mack 268,501.20 268,501.20 et al. 6. Inter Vivos Trust dated Aug. 22, 1935 (exhibit D)
7. Inter Vivos Trust dated Aug. 22,1935 (exhibit E) James S. Mack et al. 376,723.19 376,723.19
8. Inter Vivos Trust dated Dec. 29, 1936 (exhibit F) Arthur W. Watherwax, Jr., et al. 47,214.11 47,214.11
[389]*389Net Taxable Kind of Property Beneficiary' Valuation Value
9.Inter Vivos Margaret L. Mack 340,903.13 340,903.13 Trust dated et al. • Aug. 22, 1935 (exhibit G)
(Farmers Bank & Trust Co. of Indiana,, Pa., is trustee in the following:)
10. Inter Vivos Mary Louise Groat 1,006.96 1,006.96 Trust dated Jan. 19,1937 (exhibit I)
11. Inter Vivos Velda R. McHenry 5,392.67 5,392.67 Trust dated Jan. 19, 1937 (exhibit J)
Total Tax Value of Non- - Testamentary Property $1,188,491.82
A recapitulation shows the following:
Net Tax value of Testamentary Property, $4,969,286.58
Net Tax Value of Nontestamentary Property, 1,188,491.82
Total Net Taxable Estate, $6,157,778.40

The second, third and fourth paragraphs of the will are specific bequests. The fifth paragraph is a pecuniary legacy. As testator did not direct otherwise in his will, these bequests and the pecuniary legacy are required by the Apportionment Act of 1937 to bear their proportionate share of the estate taxes.

The sixth paragraph of the will is a specific devise of real estate to testator’s widow for life with remainder in fee to his son, James S. Mack. Under the provisions of the Act of 1937 the estate tax liability on the life estate and on the remainder is required to be paid out of the corpus without apportionment between the life estate and the remainder. The estate tax liability attributable to the life estate and remainder will be apportioned to the remainderman, James S. Mack.

The seventh paragraph of the will was carried out by testator in his lifetime, is ineffective, and not involved in this proceeding.

[390]*390The principal question in the case at bar arises under paragraph 8 (b) of the will, which is as follows:

“I direct that my Trustees shall set aside Twenty Thousand (20,000) shares of my common capital stock of G. C. MURPHY COMPANY for the benefit of my sons JOHN GORDON MACK and JAMES S. MACK and the institutions hereinafter mentioned.

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Bluebook (online)
74 Pa. D. & C. 385, 1949 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 24, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mack-estate-paorphctallegh-1949.