Register of Wills for Baltimore City v. Cook
Maryland Court of Appeals
241 Md. 264, 216 A.2d 542 (1966)
- Written by Paul Neel, JD
Facts
Before she died, Jessie Marjorie Cook executed a pour-over will leaving money in trust to the Maryland Branch of the National Woman’s Party for the purpose of advancing women’s rights and working toward the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment of the United States Constitution. The will also left money in trust to two women attorneys to assist any woman injured by inequalities codified in Maryland law and to further social and economic equality for women. Cook’s will was admitted to probate. The Register of Wills for Baltimore City (plaintiff) petitioned to tax Cook’s estate (defendant) because the money would be used to influence legislation, a noncharitable purpose. The executors of the estate argued that the gifts were charitable and deductible. The trial court ruled for the estate. The Register of Wills for Baltimore City appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Oppenheimer, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
