Department of Revenue v. Martin

This is an appeal by the Department of Revenue from a judgment holding that an adopted child who received a substantial bequest in the will of her natural mother was entitled to the preferential treatment a “child” is accorded by Oregon inheritance tax laws.

The decedent released her daughter for an adoption which was regularly completed in the State of Washington in 1912. Subsequently, the mother and daughter established a close personal relationship. The adoptive parents had long since died. The Department of Revenue proposed to tax the devised inheritance at the rate applicable under ORS…