Spangenberg Estate’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

25 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 29 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Under appellant’s view the effect is the same as though the paragraph had been omitted entirely from the will. Such interpretation is forced and unnatural. A will should be read in the ordinary and grammatical sense of the words employed. A construction of a will which renders every word operative is to be preferred to one which makes some words and sentences idle and nugatory. As stated by the court below, the obvious meaning is that ‘the testatrix intended and directed that all transfer inheritance taxes and estate taxes upon all legacies and bequests should be paid out of the residuary estate by her executors.’”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 2015 Pa. Super. 249 - In Re: Estate of Davis, L., Appeal of: Sullivan, R

2. “. . . an inheritance tax is ultimately payable by the legatee or out of the estate passing to her, unless the will clearly indicates, either expressly or by necessary implication, that the legacy was given free of the tax: Anderson's Estate, 312 Pa. 180 , 167 A. 329 ; Rettew's Estate, 142 Pa. Superior Ct. 335 , 16 A. 2d 322 .”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Wright Estate

3. ““. . . it was the clear intent of the testatrix that the legatees of all legacies, including that of appellant’s life interest in the residuary estate, were to be relieved of the obligation of paying the transfer inheritance tax and that that burden was to be shifted to the corpus of the residuary estate.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 16 Pa. D. & C.2d 319 - Pickering Estate