In re Estate of Wade

This case involves the applicability of the New Hampshire inheritance tax to an annuity intended to discharge an after-death alimony obligation. RSA ch. 86. We affirm the assessment against the estate on the total annuity value of $60,757 and hold that where a party’s obligation to pay alimony expires at the end of three years pursuant to former RSA 458:19 (1983), and is neither renewed nor extended, any payment to an ex-spouse after such expiration is voluntary and not a debt within the meaning of RSA 86:44 (Supp. 1986).

Hugh Mason Wade and Joan Glassco Wade were divorced on October 1, 1974.…