Succession of Reynolds

260 So. 2d 811, 1972 La. App. LEXIS 6134
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 28, 1972
DocketNo. 11823
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 260 So. 2d 811 (Succession of Reynolds) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Succession of Reynolds, 260 So. 2d 811, 1972 La. App. LEXIS 6134 (La. Ct. App. 1972).

Opinion

BOLIN, Judge.

James R. Reynolds, executor of the succession of his wife, Karita Young Reynolds, ruled the ex-officio tax collector for the Parish of Caddo into court to show cause why it should not be judicially determined that no inheritance tax was due by the succession.

The tax collector answered the rule asserting that assets in a foreign trust, established by decedent in 1959, should be included in the succession for the purpose of ascertaining the inheritance tax due.

The trial judge rendered judgment decreeing the assets in the trust to be a part of decedent’s estate for the purpose of computing the inheritance tax due the State of Louisiana, and Reynolds appeals. We affirm the ruling of the lower court.

The facts of this case are not in dispute. On June 1, 1959, Karita Y. Goeller, later Karita Young Reynolds, entered into a trust agreement with her father, R. A. Young, as trustee, who was and remained a domiciliary of Oklahoma. The property conveyed by the trust instrument was comprised of .stocks, bonds, debentures, treasury bills, cash, and a mineral interest, total value of which was $486,694.96. These intangibles were at all times physically lo[812]*812cated in Oklahoma. Pertinent parts of the trust agreement were as follows:

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2. This trust shall remain in force and effect throughout the life of the Trustor ; however, it is understood and agreed that the trust herein created is revocable by the Trustor during her lifetime. In the event of revocation of the trust, the Trustee shall be notified in writing by the Trustor.
* * * * * *
9. Distribution of Trust upon Trustor’s Death. Upon the death of the Trustor, the Trustee shall pay all the just debts of the Trustor which are not otherwise paid and satisfied . . . and shall make division and distribution of the remainder of the trust estate as follows, to wit: . . .
b. In the event the Trustor dies without surviving children, natural or adopted;
(1) The following designated share of the said remainder shall be distributed forthwith to the Trustor’s husband,
If the marriage has existed eight years but less than fifteen years, the distributive share shall be twenty per cent of said remainder;
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(2) The remainder of said trust estate shall be vested indefeasibly in Trustor’s sister, Carolyn Y. Hodnett.

Karita Young Reynolds died without revoking the trust agreement. She was domiciled in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, at the time of her death on October 28, 1970. She left no descendants and was survived by her father, mother and sister, and by her husband to whom she had been married for nine years. The father and mother renounced any interest in the succession.

Karita Young Reynolds died testate bequeathing all of her property to her husband, James R. Reynolds. The will was probated and Reynolds was confirmed as testamentary executor of the estate. Thereafter, he filed a descriptive list of her assets, but excluded the assets of the trust.

Reynolds argues the trust was not executed in contemplation of death and, therefore, under Louisiana R.S. 47:2402, the assets of the trust are exempt from taxation. He also argues the court does not have jurisdiction over the trust assets because (1) the assets are located in Oklahoma, (2) the trustee is a resident of Oklahoma, (3) the sister is a non-resident of Louisiana, and (4) there has been no service of process upon the trustee or sister.

Pertinent to the first argument are the following Louisiana statutes:

R.S. 47:2401:
“There is hereby levied a tax upon all inheritances, legacies and donations and gifts made in contemplation of death, except such as are hereinafter specifically exempted.” (Emphasis ours)
R.S. 47:2404:
“A. Except as provided in Subsection (C) of this section and except to the extent of the exemptions provided in R.S. 47:2402 the tax shall be imposed with respect to all property of every nature and kind included or embraced in any inheritance legacy or donation or gift made in contemplation of death, including all immovable property and all tangible movable property physically in the State of Louisiana, whether owned or inherited by, or bequeathed, given or donated to a resident or nonresident, and whether inherited, bequeathed, given or donated under the laws of this state or of any other state or country. The tax shall also be imposed with respect to all movable property, tangible or intangible, owned by residents of the State of Louisiana, wherever situated; provided that the tax shall not be imposed upon any transfer of intangible movable property owned by [813]*813a person not domiciled in this state at the time of his death. (Emphasis ours)
“B. In the event that any real estate is included in the estate of the decedent and is bona fide mortgaged in an amount in excess of fifty per centum of its value, in computing the equity of value of such estate for the purposes of assessing an inheritance tax, the apparent margin between the appraised value of such realty and the mortgage incumbrance thereon shall be reduced by an amount equal to twenty per centum of such encumbrance.
“C. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section or of any provision of law, there shall be excluded from the property subject to the tax imposed in this Part any proceeds receivable by any beneficiary (other than the estate of the decedent) under any life insurance policy, or any retirement or pension plan, trust, system or policy.”
R.S. 47:2406:
“The burden of proving facts establishing exemptions from the tax imposed by this Part is upon the person claiming the exemption.
“All donations or transfers of property for inadequate consideration within one year prior to the death of the owner thereof shall be separately listed in the inventory or sworn statement of the property composing the estate of the decedent, and shall be presumed to have been made in contemplation of death and in avoidance of the tax herein levied, and unless this presumption is overcome by sufficient evidence, the property shall be deemed a part of the succession of the person who has so donated or alienated the property for purposes of computing the inheritance tax due by the succession, legatees or heirs of the person.
“Donations and transfers prior to one year of death may be always inquired into and if shown to have been made in contemplation of death and in avoidance of taxes, then the same shall be likewise liable to the tax.”

Counsel for Reynolds has presented us with an exhaustive brief much of which is devoted to.a discussion of the validity of the trust and citation to authorities supporting its validity. Since appellee has not attacked the validity of the trust we find it unnecessary to go into this question. For purposes of this- case we accept its validity.

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Related

Opinion Number
Louisiana Attorney General Reports, 1996
In re Estate of Carter
11 V.I. 735 (Virgin Islands, 1975)
Succession of Reynolds
262 So. 2d 394 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1972)

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Bluebook (online)
260 So. 2d 811, 1972 La. App. LEXIS 6134, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/succession-of-reynolds-lactapp-1972.