Advertisement

LAW PROFESSOR SHOWS DUPONTS HOW TO AVOID TAX

Second Article of Startling Law Issue Contains Censure of Supreme Court By Noted Professor

How the Duponts can avoid inheritance taxes forever is shown by W. Barton Leach '21, professor of Law, in the leading article of the February Law Review appearing today.

Leach's article explains that a recent attempt by the Delaware legislature to modify its technical property law may have unforeseen consequences, possibly resulting in a severe headache on the part of the U. S. Treasury department.

For Example

"Suppose that A" says Leach, "an economic Royalist (and there are such in Delaware), leaves his estate to his son, B, for life, remainder to such of B's issues as B shall by will appoint, with full power of delegation; then B exercises the power by giving a life estate of his son, C, of life, remainder to such of C's issue as C shall by will appoint with full power of delegation; then C exercises the power in the same way, and so on ad infinitum.

"Two consequences," concludes Leach, "follow: (1) Property can thus be tied up in a family forever--a result which has not been possible in Anglo-American Law since 1472; and (2) No federal estate tax is payable after such tax has been paid in the estate of A."

Advertisement

Frankfurter Criticizes Court

In a lengthy article treating the work of the Supreme Court during the past two years, Felix Frankfurter, Byrne Professor of Administrative Law, credits the Court with the courage to admit its errors and reverse itself rather than regard its decisions as unchangeable as does the British House of Lords.

20 Year Delay

Frankfurter denounces, however, the 20 year delay the Supreme Court imposed on the States before allowing them to deal with such grave social problems as minimum wages for women.

Expounding and criticizing the proposed reforms in the bankruptcy laws is the task undertaken by Cloyd Laporte '16, New York lawyer, in a third article of the Review.

Advertisement