Estate of Johnson

233 Cal.App.2d 785 (1965) ESTATE OF ALICE F. JOHNSON, Deceased. ALAN CRANSTON, as State Controller, Petitioner and Appellant,

v.

DOROTHY CURRIE, Objector and Respondent.

Civ. No. 28315. California Court of Appeals. Second Dist., Div. Two.

Apr. 23, 1965. Charles J. Barry, Walter H. Miller and William L. Baugh for Petitioner and Appellant.

Booth, Mitchel, Strange & William and George C. Mitchel for Objector and Respondent.

ROTH, P. J.

This is an appeal by the State Controller from the order of the trial court fixing the inheritance tax on the estate of Alice F. Johnson (Alice) excluding from the estate and therefore from the embrace of the tax a remainder interest in a trust estate established by her father, George H. Flowers.

On March 27, 1938, Flowers, a resident of Missouri, died testate in Missouri. Pursuant to his will probated in Lawrence County, Missouri, the residue of his estate was distributed in [787] trust to First National Bank of Pierce City, Missouri, for the benefit of his wife, Flora Flowers, and his daughter, Alice; the income thereof to be paid in equal parts every three months during the life of the trust to wife and daughter Alice "... during the lifetime of my said wife and upon her death it is my will that all of said trust property then on hand shall go to and become the absolute property of my said daughter."

On June 21, 1960, Alice, a resident of California, died in California. She was survived by her mother and her only child, Dorothy Currie, who was appointed executrix of her estate. Alice's will provided, among other things, as follows: "To my mother, Flora Flowers, ... during her lifetime, my share of the income from the George Flowers [sic] Trust, First National Bank of Pierce City, Missouri, trustee; my remainder interest under said trust to my daughter, Dorothy Currie. ..."

On or about July 27, 1960, the trustee petitioned the Circuit Court of Lawrence County, Missouri, for a declaratory judgment to determine his legal duty under the trust. The petition alleged, inter alia, that the petitioner was the duly qualified trustee of the George Flowers' Trust; that Alice had predeceased her mother; that the trust fails to provide in express language for the distribution of income from the trust in the event of the death of Alice during the life of her mother, nor for the distribution of the corpus of the trust upon the death of Flora Flowers; and that the trustee is unable to determine the issue so created. The petition concludes with a prayer that the court ascertain the beneficiaries and distributees of the income and corpus of the trust and also that the court construe the will of George Flowers and declare the duties, rights and legal relations of the petitioner so that it may proceed with the administration of the trust. The petition named Flora Flowers, Dorothy Currie and Doir Johnson (Dorothy's husband) as defendants. Each defendant was served by mail and appeared by counsel in the Missouri proceeding.