Kirkwood v. Citizens National Trust & Savings Bank

This is an appeal by the Controller of the State of California from a judgment of the superior court, sitting in probate, which sustained respondent George Badovich ’s objections to the report of the inheritance tax appraiser and which fixed the inheritance tax on the estate of Jack B. Badovich, deceased.

The facts are not in dispute.

In 1934, when George Vukoye (now legally known as George Badovich) was 17 years of age, his natural parents entered into an oral agreement with the decedent, Jack B. Badovich, whereby George was to live with Jack who promised that he would consider George his son…