United States v. Wells Fargo Bank, Formerly Wells Fargo Bank American Trust Co., Etc.

BARNES, Circuit Judge:

This is an appeal from a judgment of the District Court for the Northern District of California. Our jurisdiction is established by 28 U.S.C. § 1291 (1964).

The facts of the case are undisputed. On May 19, 1955, a federal estate tax return was filed on behalf of the estate of one Augusta W. Lachmund, whose death had occurred on February 28, 1954; the tax was paid as reported. Claiming that a certain trust created by the decedent had been established in contemplation of death, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue proposed a deficiency. This the estate paid on February 25,…