In Re Mooney Estate

Respondent Department of Treasury appeals from a Jackson County Probate Court order requiring respondent to recompute the inheritance tax assessment on the estate of the decedent, Hugh Robert Mooney, Sr., to give Mooney’s natural sons, the sole beneficiaries of decedent’s estate, preferential tax treatment under MCL 205.202; MSA 7.562. We affirm, holding that a child who has been adopted out by its natural parent remains a lineal descendant entitled to preferred inheritance tax treatment under MCL 205.202; MSA 7.562.

The decedent was the natural father of two sons, Hugh and James, born during…