In re Landis' Estate

Citation56 A. 1039,66 N.J.E. 291
PartiesIn re LANDIS' ESTATE. In re VINELAND HISTORICAL & ANTI-QUARIAN SOC.
Decision Date16 February 1904
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court (New Jersey)

(Syllabus by the Court.)

Appeal from Orphans' Court, Cumberland Ctounty.

In the matter of the estate of Charles K. Landis. From an order discharging the Vineland Historical & Antiquarian Society from a collateral inheritance tax, the prosecutor of the pleas appeals. Reversed.

J. Hampton Fithian, for appellant Charles K. Landis, for respondents.

MAGIE, Ordinary. The decree appealed from was made by the orphans' court under the following circumstances: By the will of Charles K. Landis, who died in the county of Cumberland June 12, 1900, a legacy was given to a corporation entitled the "Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society." On March 18, 1901, the surrogate of that county had appointed an appraiser under the provisions of section 13 of the act entitled "An act to tax intestates' estates, gifts, legacies, devises and collateral inheritances in certain cases," approved May 15, 1894 (3 Gen. St. p. 3339), and upon the report of his appraisement had fixed the value of the estate, and the tax to which the same was liable, and had given notice thereof in the manner prescribed by that section. No appeal therefrom was made either to the ordinary or to the orphans' court within 60 days after the surrogate's assessment was made and filed. The tax thus fixed was not paid, and the State Comptroller notified the prosecutor of the pleas of the county of the failure to pay, and the prosecutor thereupon proceeded, under the provisions of section 17 of that act, to procure a decree from the orphans' court, under the power conferred upon it by the provisions of section 16 (Gen. St. p. 3342). Upon the prosecutor's request the surrogate of the county issued citations, and cited the persons interested before the orphans' court to show cause why the tax should not be paid. Upon the return of the citations the parties interested appeared by counsel, and the orphans' court proceeded to the consideration of the matter thus presented. The learned judge, upon the facts before him, reached the conclusions that the legatee, the Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society, was not liable to a tax upon its legacy, because he found it to be a "charitable" institution or organization, and so excepted from the provisions of the act by the express terms of its first section. Thereupon a decree was made discharging the rule to show cause and setting aside the assessment of the tax. From that decree this appeal is taken by the prosecutor of the pleas.

There are two contentions made by appellant in support of this appeal. The first is that the orphans' court had no jurisdiction in this case to entertain the question of liability to the tax assessed upon the legacy, because the parties interested were debarred from raising that question by their failure to appeal from the surrogate's assessment within the time limited by the terms of section 13, Gen. St p. 3342. This contention involves the construction of section 13. The respondent argues that the appeal therein provided for relates only to the valuation and the amount of taxes fixed, and not to the, liability of the legatee thereto. I feel unable to yield to this contention. The act of the surrogate prima facie fixes the liability to the tax as well as the amount thereof. The appeal given is from the appraisement and the assessment, and I have no doubt that upon such an appeal the parties interested might well complain either of the amount assessed or of the liability to assessment, or both, and that the orphans' court might, upon such an appeal, adjudicate accordingly. But in the absence of an appeal under section 13 and an adjudication thereupon, I do not think the surrogate's assessment debars the parties from raising the question of liability when they are called upon by citation under section 16 to show cause why the tax should not be paid. The language of that section is, perhaps, wanting in clearness, but I think it must be construed as empowering the orphans' court to determine whether the tax should be paid, to decree its payment, and to enforce such decree as other decrees of that court may be enforced; with the additional provision that a transcript of the decree may be given the effect of a lien by judgment. A party interested, thus cited, must be deemed to be permitted to interpose any objection to such a decree.

The Court of Appeals of New York, I am aware, has given a different construction to the section of the collateral inheritance tax law of that state (.Laws 1885, p. 823, c. 483, § 13), which is in substantially identical terms with section 13 of our act. In the Matter of the Estate of Wolfe, 137 N. Y. 205, 33 N. E. 156. The opinion of Judge Grey in that case is ingenious and forcible, but is based upon the provisions of section 15 of the New York act (Laws 1885, p. 823, c. 483), which expressly confers on the surrogate's court jurisdiction "to hear and determine all questions in relation to the tax arising under the provisions" of the act. It...

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4 cases
  • Tappan Washington Memorial Corp. v. Margetts, A--401
    • United States
    • New Jersey Superior Court – Appellate Division
    • October 5, 1950
    ...A. 785, 115 A.L.R. 1114 (1938); 10 Am.Jur. p. 632; 14 C.J.S., Charities, § 15, p. 446. It is true that in In re Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society, 66 N.J.Eq. 291, 56 A. 1039, (Prerog. 1904) affirmed 67 N.J.Eq. 730, 63 A. 1119 (E. & A. 1905) and Pitney v. Bugbee, 98 N.J.L. 116, 118......
  • Davie v. Rochester Cemetery Ass'n
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of New Hampshire
    • December 2, 1941
    ...and funds of which are devoted to such purposes as would support the creation of a valid charitable trust. In re Vineland, etc., Society, 66 N.J.Eq. 291, 295, 56 A. 1039. In construing a statute exempting from taxation the property of charitable societies, this court has said: "* * * if an ......
  • Schuster v. Nichols
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 1st Circuit. United States District Courts. 1st Circuit. District of Massachusetts
    • June 3, 1927
    ...charitable uses, is, in some jurisdictions, at least, accepted as a part of the common law. Jackson v. Phillips, supra; In re Landis, 66 N. J. Eq. 291, 56 A. 1039. If we concede, for the sake of argument, that the word as used in the federal statute is to be given this comprehensive meaning......
  • In re Budell's Estate
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court (New Jersey)
    • September 18, 1926
    ...as much as denial of the accuracy of valuations or computations. The same conclusion was expressed in Re Vineland Historical, etc., Society, 66 N. J. Eq. 291, at page 293, 56 A. 1039, the only difference being that, under the statute then in force, the appraisement and assessment were made ......

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