Marshall v. Riley

THOMPSON, J. The executors of the last will of Charles Pala, deceased, have appealed from a purported order of the Probate Court of Del Norte County holding that Crescent Lodge No. 45, Free and Accepted Masons, a fraternal organization, as a residuary legatee of the estate of said deceased, is subject to the payment of collateral inheritance tax.

The respondent contends that no findings, judgment or order was made, rendered or entered with relation, to said proceeding, and that the purported appeal is therefore premature and void; that the court merely filed its “Memorandum of Opinion” therein, which proceeding does not conform to the requirements of sections 16 to 18, inclusive, of the Inheritance Tax Act. (Stats. 1935, ch. 358, pp. 1266, 1285; Stats. 1937, p. 655; 2 Deering’s Gen. Laws of 1937, p. 3953, Act 8495.) The appeal is presented to this court on a settled bill of exceptions and the clerk’s certificate to the judgment roll as provided by section 1242 of the Probate Code.

Charles Pala died February 28, 1940, and his will was admitted to probate in Del Norte County. By the terms of that will Crescent Lodge No. 45, Free and Accepted Masons, was made the residuary legatee of the estate. An inheritance tax appraiser was duly appointed and subsequently filed his report in the estate finding that said lodge is subject to an inheritance tax in the sum of $1,051.07. No findings were adopted and no order was made confirming that report. [649]Findings were not waived. Within the time allowed by section 16(2) of said Inheritance Tax Act, objections to said report were filed in writing by the executors on the ground that the lodge is “engaged in or devoted to . . . charitable, benevolent ... or other like work, ’ ’ and therefore is exempt from inheritance taxes under the provisions of section 6(b) of said act. That section was amended in 1941 to exempt from inheritance taxes only such corporations or associations as are “exclusively engaged in or devoted to any charitable . . . or other like work.” (Italics ours.) (Stats. 1941, ch. 833, p. 2387, Deering’s Supp. of 1941, pp. 2366, 2370, Act 8495.) That amendment, however, has no application to the present proceeding. The issue as to whether the lodge is engaged in charitable work to the extent of exempting it from inheritance taxes as provided by the statute was formally tried and submitted for determination to a judge of the superior court of that county. Oral and documentary evidence was adduced at that hearing, which was held on August 2, 1941. August 7, 1941, the trial judge filed his “Memorandum of Opinion” stating that the objections to the appraiser’s report should be overruled, and that “the order will be made fixing the tax as proposed by the inheritance tax appraiser.” No findings of fact were ever adopted by the court, and no order or judgment was made or rendered. The notice of appeal refers to the “order” filed on August 7th, which is merely the opinion of the court. It does not appear that opinion Avas ever entered as an order or otherwise.