LAW REPORTS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2438, 17 April 1915, Page 4

LAW REPORTS

COURT OF APPEAL DEATH DUTY ON AN ESTATE A question affecting the death duty payable on a Canterbury Estate was ar- ' gued before tlio Court of Appeal in Wellington yesterday. Their Honours on the Bench were the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout), Air. Justice . Denniston, Mr. Justice Edwards, Mr. Justice Cooper, and Mr. Justice Chapman. The appellants in the matter wre William M'Millnn and John Dei,ns, the executors of the will of Alexander Duncan M'Hwraith. deceased; the respondent ivas the Commissioner, of Stamps. Mr. H. J. Beswick, of Christchurcli, represented the appellants at the hearing, and tho Solicitor-General (Mr. J. W. Salmond) appeared for the Commissioner. The case stated for the opinion of the Court set out that in 1891. M'llwraith, before and in consideration of his marriage, executed a deed of settlement, by which he settled certain real property upon trustees to j>ay an annuity of .£SO to his wife for their joint lives, end after his death to increase the annuity to -£200, and pay the residue of the income from the property to himself for hi 6 life, witt the remainder on his death to -lie children of the marriage, and, in default of children, with tie remainder to himself absolutely. The deed contained, also, a power of revocation vested in M'llwTaith, and exercisable on the terms of | substituting other property for the property so settled. In 1906 M'llwraith did execute further deed, by which he purposed to divest himse'.f of the life interest reserved to himself by the deed of settlement of 1894, by increasing the annuity payable to his wife for their joint lives to .£IOO,. and by settling the remainder of the income from the property upon the children. Also, he purported to divest himself , of the reversionary interest reserved to himself in default of children, by settling it upon certain relations, but the power- of revocation contained in tho deed of settlement remained unaffected by the fu/rthor deed of 1908. M'llwraith died on October 20, 1913, and the Commissioner of Stamp 3, in assessing the estate for death duty, included as dutiable the property comprised in the deed of 1891. The executors were dissatisfied with this assessment, and required the Commissioner to state a case for the opinion of the Court of Appeal. . The contention of the appellants is that the property comprised in the 1891 deed does not form part of tho dutiable estate. After Their Honours had heard Mr. Beswick, tho Chief Justice' stated that the Court would consider what had been said, and would call- on the SolicitorGeneral later if necessary. ' ..