Stickney

The State Controller of California, Houston I. Flournoy (Controller) has appealed from each of two orders fixing inheritance taxes in the respective estates of Fred M. Cox (Fred) and Frances L. Cox (Frances); he has appealed also from an order made in proceedings consolidated for trial in each of the two estates, which are denominated petitions to determine interests in the estates. All matters have been consolidated for the purposes of appeal.

A motion made to dismiss the appeals from the order determining interests in the estates was denied.

The Background of the Controversy

Fred was the second husband of Frances; by her first marriage she had one child, Kenneth Duncan (Kenneth), who married Patricia, now Patricia Duncan Snyder, on April 24, 1955. Patricia obtained a final decree of divorce from Kenneth in 1965. 1 One child, Brett Duncan (Brett) was born of that marriage on April 6, 1956.

Iva Wells (Iva) was the mother of Frances, and of Ralph Gordon Wells, father of Dianna Wells Moyer (Dianna).

Iva died in 1957.

Fred had three sisters: Alice Cox Hilker (Alice), Adelaide Taylor (Adelaide) and Berta Randall, deceased (Berta). Berta had two children: Claude Randall…