Toulmin Estate v. United States

326 F. Supp. 1028, 32 Ohio Misc. 176
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedMarch 19, 1971
DocketNo. 3710
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 326 F. Supp. 1028 (Toulmin Estate v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Toulmin Estate v. United States, 326 F. Supp. 1028, 32 Ohio Misc. 176 (S.D. Ohio 1971).

Opinion

Weinman, Chief Judge.

This is a tax refund action brought by plaintiff, estate of Harry A. Toulmin, Jr., against the defendant, United States of America, seeking a refund of $202,745.45 plus interest for estate tax allegedly wrongfully assessed and collected by the Internal Revenue Service. This amount arose from the disallowance of a charitable deduction for the present value of a testamentary trust remainder interest passing to Georgetown University Medical School of Washington, D. C, This court has jurisdiction by virtue of 28 U. S. Code, Section 1346(a) (1).

This cause is before this court upon the motions of both plaintiff and defendant for summary judgment.

The facts are not in dispute. The decedent, Harry A. Toulmin, Jr., died on March 8, 1965.. The decedent left a will modified by five codicils which was admitted to probate. Under said will the decedent established two testamentary trusts designated a “Marital Deduction Trust” and a “Trust Estate.”

Under Item VI of said will modified by codicils, the decedent in substance directed that his trustees pay the income from the “Trust Estate” to his widow, Virginia Toulmin, for life with the exception of $3,000.00 payable annually to decedent’s chauffeur for life. Upon the death of the last surviving income beneficiary the remainder interest of the “Trust Estate” was to pass to Georgetown Medical School of Washington, D. C.

Under Item VII of said will the decedent so far as is relevant, granted the trustees the following administrative powers in connection with the “Trust Estate”:

“(c) To enforce, defend against or have adjudicated, by legal proceedings or arbitration, or abandon, compound, [178]*178adjust, settle, or compromise, any claim or demand whatsoever in favor of or against the Trust Estate; * * ’*
“(e) To invest or reinvest in bonds of the United States of America, or of any state, municipality or subdivision thereof; or in first mortgages and first mortgage bonds on or secured by improved real estate located in any state; or in bonds, notes, debentures, mortgages or stock (including voting trust certificates and shares of all classes) of any corporation within the United States of America, or in certificates of beneficial interest and participation in or promises to pay issued against or secured in whole or in part by groups of securities similar to or embracing those securities above specified; or in real or other property, although any of the investments herein set forth are not of the character permitted for investments by Trustees under any statute or rule of law governing investments of trust funds by fiduciaries, or otherwise, now or from time to time hereafter in force; * * *
“ (m) To determine how all receipts and disbursements shall be credited or charged against, or apportioned between income and principal and against or between the separate trusts; * * *
“(r) To make all payments or distributions without liability for erroneous payments or distributions made in good faith and without actual notice or knowledge of the changed condition or status of any beneficiary receiving payments or distribution upon a condition. * * *
‘ ‘ (t) To determine the expedience, propriety, necessity or advisability of exercising, partially exercising, or not exercising any discretionary powers. * * *
“ (v) To do all other things the Trustee may deem best for the conservation, protection and betterment of the Trust Estate, and to the best interest and advantage of each of the beneficiaries and his or her dependents, as fully and completely as if the trustees were the unqualified owners thereof.”

Plaintiff filed a federal estate tax return for decedent’s estate on June 28, 1966. In said return plaintiff took a charitable deduction for $509,166.00. This amount repre[179]*179sents the value at the time of decedent’s death of the.principal of the “Trust Estate” passing to Georgetown University Medical School upon the death of the last income beneficiary.

Upon audit of the federal estate tax return, the Internal Revenue Service disallowed the claimed deduction for the value of the remainder interest passing to Georgetown University Medical School on the grounds that the administrative powers granted the trustees under Item VII of the will, modified by codicils created an unrestricted power to divert the principal of the charitable remainder trust and thus the value of the charitable remainder was not presently ascertainable as of the date of decedent’s death. A deficiency of $206,598.02 in net federal estate tax was assessed. Plaintiff paid this deficiency and filed a timely claim for refund. On May 7, 1969, the District Director of Internal Revenue of Cincinnati, Ohio rejected plaintiff’s claim for refund by certified mail. Plaintiff then commenced this action to recover the deficiency she paid plus interest.

Section 2055(a), Title 26 U. S. Code, which controls the present case, provides that for federal estate tax purposes an estate may deduct from the value of the gross estate the amount of all bequests to certain designated political, charitable or religious organizations. It is admitted by the government that the Georgetown University Medical School is a charitable institution described in Section 2055 (a)(2), Title 26 ü, S. Code.

“Where as in the present case, a trust is created for both a charitable and a private purpose, the Estate Tax Regulations Section 20.2055-2 (a) and (b) allow a deduction for the value of the charitable remainder if (1) the charitable interest is “presently ascertainable and hence severable from the non-charitable interest,” and (2) viewing the circumstances as of the time of the decedent’s death, “the possibility that the charitable transfer will not become effective is so remote as to be negligible.” The regulation further provides that if the trustee is empowered to divert the property or fund, in whole or in part for a non-[180]*180charitable purpose or use, the charitable deduction will be limited to that portion, if any, of the property or fund which is exempt from the exercise of the power.

It is established law that where a trustee has unlimited power to divert the principal of a charitable remainder trust from the benefit of the income beneficiary, the value of the charitable remainder is not presently ascertainable. A deduction for the value of the charitable remainder is only allowed where the power to invade or divert principal is restricted by a standard “fixed in fact and capable of being stated in definite terms of money” so that the amount that the charity will actually receive is accurately calculable at the time of the decedent’s death. Merchants National Bank of Boston, Executor, v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue (1943), 320 U. S. 256, 64 S. Ct. 108, 88 L. Ed. 35; Ithaca Trust Co. v. United States (1929), 279 U. S. 151, 49 S. Ct. 291, 73 L. Ed. 647.

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Bluebook (online)
326 F. Supp. 1028, 32 Ohio Misc. 176, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/toulmin-estate-v-united-states-ohsd-1971.