Selznick v. Commissioner

15 T.C. 716, 1950 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 35
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedNovember 28, 1950
DocketDocket No. 14985
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 15 T.C. 716 (Selznick 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
Selznick v. Commissioner, 15 T.C. 716, 1950 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 35 (tax 1950).

Opinion

SUPPLEMENTAL OPINION.

Van Fossan, Judge:

The respondent determined a deficiency of $384,634.05 in the estate tax liability of the Estate of Myron Selznick, deceased. On June 23, 1947, the executors of the Estate of Myron Selznick petitioned this Court for a redetermination of the deficiency. The parties came to agreement and settled by stipulation many of the issues from which a large part of the deficiency arose. On April 1, 1949, a Memorandum Opinion of this Court was entered which sustained the respondent’s inclusion in the gross estate under section 811 (c), Internal Revenue Code, of certain property transferred by the decedent in trust. That Memorandum Opinion was based on the recent decision in the case of Commissioner v. Estate of Church, 335 U. S. 651. On June 3, 1949, a decision of the Tax Court was entered that there was a deficiency in estate tax of $199,842.44. The petitioner appealed from that decision to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which remanded the proceedings to this Court. The nature of the cause under mandate is set forth therein, in part, as follows:

* * * on stipulation of counsel for respective parties that the decision of the Tax Court should be vacated and the cause remanded to the Tax Court for further consideration:
On Consideration Whereof, It is now here ordered and adjudged by this Court that the decision of the said Tax Court of the United States in this cause be, and hereby is vacated, and that this cause be, and hereby is remanded to the Tax Court of the United States for further consideration in the light of the amendments of October 25, 1949 to Section 811 (c) and also subdivisions (d) and (g) of the Internal Revenue Code.

The amendments to the Code enact certain retroactive statutory changes in the law as affected by Commissioner v. Estate of Church, supra, relied on in our Memorandum Opinion vacated by the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

The factual record we have before us is the same as in the prior proceedings and consists of the pleadings and a stipulation of facts with exhibits attached. The facts as stipulated are so found and in so far as they are pertinent to the issue remaining, are set forth below.

The parties have submitted additional briefs in which the argument is directed toward the issue now before us. viz:

Whether any part of the assets transferred by the decedent to a trust created by him on January 29, 1932, should be included in the decedent’s gross estate under section 811 (c) or (d) or (g) of the Code, as amended by P. L. 378, 81st Cong. (1949).

FINDINGS OF FACT.

The petitioners are the duly appointed and acting executors of the last will and testament of the decedent, Myron Selznick, who died on March 23, 1944. The Federal estate tax return of the decedent was filed with the collector of internal revenue for the sixth district of California on June 22, 1945.

On January 29,1932, the decedent created a trust naming the Citizens National Trust and Savings Bank of Los Angeles as trustee. Article II of the trust agreement reads as follows:

The Trustor agrees that as to the insurance policies delivered to the Trustee- or which may hereafter be delivered to it:
To cause each and every policy intended to be made subject to this agreement and the trusts hereunder to be made payable to the Trustee by sufficient designation as beneficiary thereof, or in such other manner as the parties nereto and any insurer shall agree, and the Trustee assumes no responsibility for the sufficiency or effect of any instrument or agreement by which any policy shall be made payable to it.

Article III of the trust agreement provides, in part:

During the lifetime of the Trustor, MYRON SELZNICK, no sale or exchange of property which may at any time comprise rhe principal of the trust estate, and no change in the investments of the principal of the trust estate, shall be made by the Trustee except on the written order and direction of said Trustor or his duly authorized agent,_, and said Trustor during his lifetime hereby reserves for himself and/or his agent to be designated from time to time, the right to direct, in writing, said Trustee as to the investment of all cash principal, in any securities and/or property whether or not the same may be approved and permissible by law for investment of trust funds under the laws of the State of California. * * * The Trustor hereby reserves the right by written instrument filed with the Trustee, to revoke said appointment of David O. Selznick and/or Loyd Wright, and to substitute other persons to act for. and in lieu of David O. Selznick and/or Loyd Wright, in the capacities herein in this paragraph provided for them to act.

Article VI of the trust agreement provides, in part:

* * * [The trustees] shall, after sufficient cash or other securities have been deposited in this trust so that the income therefrom shall be sufficient, (until such time the Trustor agrees to pay said premiums himself), also pay any and all premiums on life insurance policies and/or contracts which may be transferred and/or delivered by the Trustor to the Trustee pursuant to the terms hereof, * * *.

Article VII of the trust agreement reads as follows:

This Trust is irrevocable. The entire net income received and derived from the trust estate and available for distribution hereunder shall be by said Trustee paid monthly or in other convenient installments as directed by the Trustor to MYRON SELZNICK for and during his lifetime; the said MYRON SELZNICK, however, reserves the right to direct the Trustee fx-om time to time to credit, keep and add any and all income which, pursuant to the terms hereof, may be payable to him, to the principal of the corpus of the trust estate, by giving written instructions from time to time so demanding.

Article VIII of the trust agreement reads, in part, as follows:

From and after the death of the said MYRON SELZNICK, the entire net income received or derived from the trust estate and available for distribution hereunder shall go and be paid by said Trustee in equal monthly installments, as follows: [There follows various provisions for the distribution of the trust income to the decedent’s widow, daughter, parents, brothers and their children and a final provision for termination of the trust and distribution of the corpus and for remainder to charity on the failure of any of the heirs surviving.]

Article VIII further provides that:

The Trustor reserves the right to change or substitute, from time to time, the said charitable institutions, by giving notice of such change or substitution to the Trustee in writing.

Article XI provides as follows:

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Bluebook (online)
15 T.C. 716, 1950 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 35, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/selznick-v-commissioner-tax-1950.