Estate of Johnson v. Director, Div. of Taxation

LASSER, P.J.T.C.

This case involves the interpretation of an inter vivos trust instrument and the New Jersey transfer inheritance tax consequences. Both parties have moved for summary judgment. The sole issue is whether the corpus of the trust should be included in the grantor’s estate as a “transfer intended to take effect in possession or enjoyment at or after ... death” pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:34-1(c). The facts have been stipulated.

On December 29, 1974, the decedent, Mary Chick Johnson, established a trust, the beneficiaries of which were her two children, William E. Johnson and Barbara…