McDougald v. Rossi

At the close of the argument, Sloss, J., delivered the opinion of the court, Shaw, J., and Lawlor, J., concurring:

By his will the testator left one-half of his “property or possessions ’ ’ to his wife and the other one-half to be dis tributed in equal shares among his sons and daughters. The estate was all community property. The court below charged the widow with inheritance tax on only one-half of the entire community property, and from this order the treasurer appeals.

There is nothing in this will to indicate an intention to make the testamentary gift to the widow stand in lieu of her…