Estate of Creed

Estate of Creed (1967) 255 Cal.App.2d 80 involved a will which devised real property in trust for the testator's grandchildren. For estate tax purposes, a corporation was formed to hold the property, and the testator made inter vivos transfers of the stock to the grandchildren to the maximum allowed by the exemptions and exclusions under the federal gift tax law. The trial court held and the appellate court affirmed that the intent of the testator to have no ademption was manifest. There was merely a change in form, whereby the real property was held through the device of a corporation formed to effectuate the transfer to the grandchildren with a minimum of estate taxes.