In Re D'Amico Estate

Respondent appeals as of right from a probate court order which held that lottery winnings in the amount of fourteen annual payments of $50,000 each, payable to decedent’s estate, were exempt from state inheritance tax. We reverse.

I

During her lifetime, decedent, Rose D’Amico, won the Michigan State Lottery, entitling her to a prize of $1,000,000 payable in twenty annual installments. Before receiving fourteen remaining installments of $50,000 each, however, she died testate on March 13, 1981. Settlement of her last will and testament resulted in assignment of the rest, residue, and remainder…