Facts:
On 27 May 1922, Thomas Hanley died in Zamboanga,
leaving a will and considerable amount of real and personal properties.
Hanley’s will provides the following: his money will be given to his nephew,
Matthew Hanley, as well as the real estate owned by him. It further provided
that the property will only be given ten years after Thomas Hanley’s death. Thus,
in the testamentary proceedings, the Court of First Instance of Zamboanga
appointed P.J.M. Moore as trustee of the estate. Moore took oath of office on
March 10, 1924, and resigned on Feb. 29, 1932. Pablo Lorenzo was appointed in
his stead. Juan Posadas, Collector of Internal Revenue, assessed inheritance
tax against the estate amounting to P2,057.74 which includes penalty and
surcharge. He filed a motion in the testamentary proceedings so that Lorenzo
will be ordered to pay the amount due. Lorenzo paid the amount in protest after
CFI granted Posadas’ motion. He claimed that the inheritance tax should have
been assessed after 10 years. He asked for a refund but Posadas declined to do
so. The latter counterclaimed for the additional amount of P1,191.27 which
represents interest due on the tax and which was not included in the original
assessment. However, CFI dismissed this counterclaim. It also denied Lorenzo’s
claim for refund against Posadas. Hence, both appealed.
Issue: Whether the estate was delinquent in paying
the inheritance tax and therefore liable for the P1,191.27 that Posadas is
asking for?
Held: Yes. It was delinquent
because according to Sec. 1544 (b) of the Revised Administrative Code, payment
of the inheritance tax shall be made before delivering to each beneficiary his
share. This payment should have been made before March 10, 1924, the date when
P.J.M. Moore formally assumed the function of trustee.
Although the property was only to be given after
10 years from the death of Hanley, the court considered that delivery to the
trustee is delivery to cestui
que trust, the beneficiary within the meaning of Sec. 1544 (b).
Even though there was no express mention of the
word “trust” in the will, the court of first instance was correct in appointing
a trustee because no particular or technical words are required to create a
testamentary trust (69 C.J.,p. 711). The requisites of a valid testamentary
trust are: 1) sufficient words to raise a trust, 2) a definite subject, 3) a
certain or ascertained object. There is no doubt that Hanley intended to create
a trust since he ordered in his will that certain of his properties be kept
together undisposed during a fixed period or for a stated purpose.
DISCLAIMER: THIS IS JUST A PART OF THE COMPILATION OF CASE DIGESTS I HAVE SEEN IN THE WWW. CREDITS TO THE ONE WHO MADE THIS. :)
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