Hostetter's Estate

Citations

• 267 Pa. 193
• 109 A. 920
• 1920 Pa. LEXIS 835

Syllabus

<p>Taxation — Direct inheritance tax — Decedents’ estates — Personal property in State — Nonresident minor — Fiction of law — Movables follow the person — Acts of May 6,1887, P. L. 79, and, July 11,1917, P. L. 882 — Construction of statutes.</p> <p>1. As the wording of section 1 of the Direct Inheritance Tax Act of July 11, 1917, P. L. 832, is almost identical with that of section 1 of the Act of May 6, 1887, P. L. 79, relating to the collateral inheritance tax, cases decided under the latter act are relevant in the construction of the Act of 1917.</p> <p>2. The general rule that movables follow the person, is not of universal application. Based on a fiction of law, it has ¡special use where convenience and justice require, but ordinarily the truth, and not the fiction, must form the basis of action. In applying the rule to cases arising ’under the collateral inheritance tax act, where property is held in the State for the benefit of nonresidents, it has been made to depend mainly upon the nature of the property and the right of the beneficiary to remove or enjoy it or dispose of it, as he may see fit; in other words, on the extent of the control the beneficiary has over the estate. It is necessary to take into consideration the circumstances of each case as it arises.</p> <p>3. A minor, formerly a resident of Pennsylvania, after the death of his father, changed, with his mother, his domicile to New York, and died in that state in his minority. His father died intestate, and a guardian, for the minor’s share of the estate, was appointed in Pennsylvania. A grandmother of the same minor subsequently died, leaving a share of her estate to the guardian of the minor, in trust for his maintenance and support, the principal not to be paid until he reached the age of thirty years, with discretion in the trustee to make payment at an earlier age. The assets of both estates consisted of stocks, bonds, mortgages and real estate acquired by virtue of mortgage foreclosures, loca