The First National Bank of Birmingham, Alabama, and Sindey M. Amith, Executors of the Estate of Henery M. Smith v. United States

COLEMAN, Circuit Judge:

The issue in this case is whether fifteen thousand dollars of the proceeds of an insurance policy were, for estate tax purposes, a part of the estate of Henry M. Smith, deceased. The District Court found in the affirmative. We disagree, and reverse.

We conclude that the appeal really involves no true question of estate tax law. The problem is encountered in the proper construction of certain contracts, as applied to an insurance policy of the decedent. Once this is settled there would be no difficulty in applying applicable estate tax statutes.

Henry M. Smith, a resident…