McDougald

This proceeding was instituted by the treasurer of the city and county of San Francisco for the purpose of having an inheritance tax fixed upon the community property interests of Emma Shafter Howard in the estate of her husband, Charles Webb Howard. The property was appraised at $302,565.85 and the tax fixed under the law of 1905 at $6,589.14. The husband died July 17, 1908. [1] As it is well settled that the community property going to the wife upon the death of the husband is taxable as an inheritance under our laws (Estate of Moffitt, 153 Cal. 359 , [20 L. R. A. (N. S.) 207, 95 Pac. 653 , 1025]), and that the inheritance law in force at the time of death controls (Estate of Stanford, 126 Cal. 112 , [45 L. R. A. 788, 54 Pac. 259 , 58 Pac. 462 ]), the only questions arising in this case grow out of the fact that in 1903 the decedent transferred all the community property of himself and wife without her consent (see sec. 172, Civ. Code) to the Central Trust Company, to be held in trust under the terms and conditions of a written declaration of trust. After the death of her husband Mrs. Howard brought a suit against the trustee and the beneficiaries of the trust whereby she…