Matthews v. Jones’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

3 federal appellate · 5 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 9 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““ ‘It has been said: “The term ‘death duties’ embraces all duties occasioned by death, and hence embraces probate and estate duties, and also legacy and succession duties. A probate duty and its successor, the estate tax, is a tax upon the transmission of property by a deceased person. Such tax is charged upon the whole estate, regardless of the manner in which it is to be distributed. It is not a tax on what comes to the beneficiaries or heirs, but upon what is left by the decedent. It' is treated as an expense of administration, as a proper disbursement by an executor or administrator, for which he will be allowed credit in his account. The estate tax must be measured by the property transferred by the decedent, that is to say, the net estate ascertained in the manner prescribed, and takes no account of the relationship of the recipient or of the amount he takes. The tax comes into existence before and is independent of the receipt of the property by the legatee or distributee. A tax imposed upon the clear value of the estate passing from any person who may die seised or possessed thereof is an estate tax, and what passes to the heir or devisee and to which he acquires title is his share of the estate remaining after the payment of the tax. * * (Emphasis ours).””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Elkin v. Sanders

2. ““It is urged by appellants that the will of Percy Jones ‘made no provision, ambiguous or otherwise, as to apportionment of the burden of debts, expenses of administration or taxes among the beneficiaries’ and that ‘the court should have placed the burden, as a matter of law, and not of construction;’ that, as a matter of law, the property devised in trust for the widow should be charged with a pro rata share of such items. The determination of the question here presented hinges upon the intention of the testator as expressed in the will, as evidenced by its terms when considered as a whole if his intent can be determined therefrom.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Elkin v. Sanders