Page v. Commissioner of Revenue

This case is before us on a reservation and report, by a judge of the Probate and Family Court, of certain questions of law arising from a petition for an abatement of estate tax assessed by the Commissioner of Revenue (Commissioner). The parties have submitted a stipulation of facts. The judge reported three questions to the Appeals Court, pursuant to G. L. c. 215, § 13. We allowed the parties’ joint application for direct appellate review.

Briefly, the facts are as follows. In 1973, the decedent, Anne B. Middendorf, then domiciled in Maryland, contracted with The Equitable Trust Company,…