People v. Hulburd

• Decision Date: 22 October 1927
• Docket Number: No. 17743.,17743.
• Parties: PEOPLE v. HULBURD et al.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

327 Ill. 72

158 N.E. 373

PEOPLE

v.HULBURD et al.

No. 17743.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Oct. 22, 1927.

Proceeding by the People of the State of Illinois against De Forest Hulburd and others, executors, assessing inheritance taxes against the estate of Charles H. Hulburd, deceased. From the judgment, the executors appeal.

Affirmed.Appeal from Cook County Court; I. L. Weaver, Judge.

Gardner & Carton, of Chicago, for appellants.

Oscar E. Carlstrom, Atty. Gen., and Harry A. Ash and Joseph Polnick, both of Chicago, for the People.

DE YOUNG, J.

This appeal is prosecuted from a judgment of the county court of Cook county assessing inheritance taxes against the estate of Charles H. Hulburd, deceased. The decedent was a resident of the city of Chicago and died testate on January 14, 1924. He left surviving him, as his only heirs, De Forest Hulburd, his son, and Hulburd Johnston, Mary Elizabeth Johnston, Hugh McBirney Johnston, Jr., and Ethel De Forest Johnston, his grandchildren, the children of Ethel Johnston, his deceased daughter. The ages of these grandchildren at the time of the testator's death were, respectively, 17, 14, 12, and 8 years. By the first section of his will the testator directed the payment of his debts and funeral expenses and the inheritance taxes upon his estate; by the second section he devised and bequeathed to his son, De Forest Hulburd, his homestead, known as 1138 Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, with all his household goods; and by the third section he bequeathed to his son his jewelry, wearing appearel, personal effects, and automobiles. By the fourth section of his will the testator bequeathed all his stock in the Union Special Machine Company to Hugh McBirney Johnston, his son-in-law, upon the following trusts:

‘(a) In each year until the youngest of the children of my daughter, Ethel Hulburd Johnston, viz., Hulburd Johnston, Mary Elizabeth Johnston, Hugh McBirney Johnston, Jr., and Ethel De Forest Johnston, shall reach the age of twenty-one (21) years, my said trustee shall use the annual net income of the trust estate for the benefit of said children, or the survivors thereof, in equal shares, expending so much of each child's share for his or her education, support and maintenance during minority as my trustee, in his discretion, may deem necessary or proper, and paying to each child, in convenient installments, in each year after he or she shall reach his or her majority, his or her share of such net annual income. If any child shall die prior to the time for distribution of said trust estate as hereinafter provided, leaving issue him or her surviving, I direct that my trustee shall use the share of such deceased child for the benefit of the issue of said deceased child.

‘(b) When the youngest of said children, or the survivors thereof, shall reach the age of twenty-one (21) years, my trustee shall divide the trust estate, with any and all income therefrom, accrued but unpaid, and with all accumulations thereto of every kind and nature, into as many equal shares as there may be children surviving and deceased children leaving issue him or her surviving. My trustee shall convey and transfer one such share to each child then surviving and one share to the issue of any such deceased child, it being my intention that the issue of any such deceased child shall receive the share of his or her or their deceased parent, in equal shares.’

The testator by the fifth section of his will devised and bequeathed one-half of the residue of his estate to his son, De Forest Hulburd. By the sixth section he devised and bequeathed the remaining one-half of the residue to his son-in-law, Hugh McBirney Johnston, and his son, De Forest Hulburd, upon the identical trusts created by the fourth section of the will. The powers of the trustees are defined by the seventh section, and the eighth names John Gillies as successor in trust. By the ninth section Hugh McBirney Johnston and De Forest Hulburd are nominated as executors, their powers as such are defined, and Gillies is named their successor. Gillies died before the testator, and the latter by a codicil to his will named the Northern Trust Company as successor, both to the trustees and to the executors, in Gillies' stead.

The estate of the testator was appraised at $1,041,024.13 as of the day of his death. The total of the inheritance taxes as fixed by the county court's judgment was $71,793.73, constituted as follows:

+--------------------------------------------------------+
                ¦Upon the transfers to De Forest Hulburd,     ¦          ¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦the son                                      ¦$40,987 26¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦Upon the transfer to each of three grand-    ¦          ¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦children, Hulburd Johnston, Mary Eliza-      ¦          ¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦beth Johnston and Hugh McBirney              ¦          ¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦Johnston, Jr., of the income for one         ¦          ¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦year in one-quarter of the bequest by        ¦          ¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦the fourth section of the will and of the    ¦          ¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦income for one year is one-quarter of        ¦          ¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦one-half of the residue of the estate de-    ¦          ¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦vised and bequested by the sixth section     ¦          ¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦of the will, appraised, respectively,at      ¦          ¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦$1,339.31 and $4,439.38, aggregating $5,778.-¦          ¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦69, against which each of the three grand-   ¦          ¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦children was allowed an exemption of         ¦          ¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦$20,000, resulting in no tax.                ¦          ¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦Upon the transfer to the fourth grandchild,  ¦          ¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦Ethel De Forest Johnston, of (1) the in-     ¦          ¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦come for one year in one-quarter of the      ¦          ¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦bequest by the fourth section of the will,   ¦          ¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦appraised at $1,339.31; (2) the income for   ¦          ¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦one year in one-quarter of one-half of       ¦          ¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦the residue of the estate devised and be-    ¦          ¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦quethed by the sixth section of the will,    ¦          ¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦appraised at $4,439.38; (3) the remainder    ¦          ¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦of the bequest by the fourth section of the  ¦          ¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦will, after the income for one year there-   ¦          ¦
                +---------------------------------------------+----------¦
                ¦in to Hulburd Johnston, Mary Elizabeth       ¦          ¦

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