Bowers v. Schwemlein
Bowers v. Schwemlein
Opinion of the Court
The appellant Tax Commissioner urges that all the personal property transferred by the decedent to her daughter individually as gifts in 1954 and to her daughter as trustee under the trust agreement executed July 3, 1954 (final transfer in March 1955), was subject to the Ohio inheritance tax as gifts in contemplation of death under Section 5731.02 (C), Revised Code. Since the transfers in question were made more than two years prior to the death of the testatrix (Section 5731.04, Revised Code), it is admitted by counsel that the burden of proof in support of the contention that the gifts were in contemplation of death rests on appellant. See In re Estate of Robinson, 145 Ohio St., 55, at page 59, 60 N. E. (2d), 615.
The entry of the Probate Court overruling the exceptions of the Tax Commissioner to the determination of its inheritance tax states:
“On consideration of the exceptions, arguments of counsel and the oral evidence adduced at the hearing, the court finds that the securities irrevocably transferred by the decedent more than two years prior to her death were not transferred in contemplation of death and were not intended to accomplish a testamentary disposition of her property within the meaning of the inheritance tax laws of the state of Ohio and that said successions are not subject to an Ohio inheritance tax.” (Emphasis supplied.)
In the absence of a complete record disclosing all the facts on which the judgment of the Probate Court was based, this court finds itself in no position to disturb that judgment.
The judgment of the Court of Appeals, affirming the judgment of the Probate Court, is, therefore, affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.