OFFICE OF THE All-ORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Honorable George H. Sheppard 

comptroller of i'ublio Accounts 

Aud.n, Texas 

Ilear sir: Opinion No. O-7273 

Bet Classirioation of daughter of 

a divoroed husband for inheritance 

tax purpoeee. 

Your request for opinioh on the caption 

hae been given oareful oonsideration by th 

The faots are stated by you as tollowr: 

"Xrs. Lula Kellogg died a 

County, testate, and she d 

to Mrs. Annie Pettus, a da 

band. km. Kellogg again 

ing this aate r 

department has 

provides a $500 

rloodard of co1 

.W. 2nd 379)." 

be plaoed in Clam A for 

ied in Artlole 7113, 

rtinent, reads a8 

direct lineal deaoehdaht of 

or any direot lineal deeoendaht 

of thh deoedent. or to lenallY adocted ohild or 

ohildr\ba/or any direot lineai de&ondent of 

adopted ohild or ohildren of the deoedent, or to 

the husband of a daughter, or the wire or a aon, 

the tax shall be ons (1) per oent of any value 

in exoess of Twenty-Five Thousand Dollere 

($25,000.00)", etc. (Emphasis Added) 

The O'Hair oase, 130 2.X. 211 379, oan have ho 

bearing on the 0888 in issue. The iaote in that oaee were 

these: Uris. Hattie OVIair, the party aeserting the right 
-norable Worge IL Sheppard, Pa$e 2 

to be plaoed in alas8 A, ta the surviving wire (not having 

-remarried) of Will O%air, who died in 1919. To thea was born 

a son, who was living at the time of the t&al. kill OWair 

*as the son of X. J. and Mary OWalr, who died in 1936 and 

1937 rospeotively, eaoh testate, and eaoh leaving a bequest 

tqM.rti. Kattio O'Hair. The oourt, in deoidlng that this 

surviving wire should bs plaoed ih Olass A, said: 

"The Wand of deoision and legislation has 

been to give a liberal oonstruotlon of and to 

liberalize the statute in ths interest of those 

hewing some legitimate oharaoter or olaim to the 

donor*a bounty, end this regardlees of whetkr 

there bs a legal kinship by bA6od or marriage. 

n . . . 

"In the generality of oases -- and In olasrli8yiw for taxing purposes only generality sari be 

taken Into aooount -- thr considerations whioh 

wo'xl.d motivate a father or mother-in-law to provide for the da Cer-In-law would be at least as 

oogent after a8 v l fora the dsath or the son. so 

also would be the oonslderatione motivating legislative olassirloation in this regard. Thass oonsiderations are SO obvioue M not to requtro 

statsment or elaboration. 

We thlnktthsrsSor8 the leglelativb lntont 

to make.no PAstlnotian between the wiie of a ltiing hueband and ths eurriving wiie or ~a deasased 

husband oan be drawn Srom the artiole without 

doing vlolenoe to its lataguagr.*~ 

A oonsideratlon OS the erfeot of dlvoroe upon the 

relation of Mrs. Kellogg and her divoroed husband is dlsmed 

0r value at thie point. It ie said IA 15 Tax. Jur. 560, 

Seo. 938 

*In Texas, a deoree oS divoroe Is abeolute 

from the date of its ontry unless set aside or 

appealed from. It hse the legal effoot OS oonolusl~el~ establishing the status of thr barties 

az sin&s nerson8, operating, it has been said 

‘in rem and tsrminating thr marriage relatlon."' 

(Kmphasfs added) 

In Stuart v. Dole, 92 S.W. 1040, the 0oUrt said 

that a dearer ot divoroe "terminates the msrriage relation." 
Under t&OS. authorities, the dm@tw ot a diroroad 

h&kEXid, i8 nat a pewon “AsTiag aosw logitiaat* oharaotar 0r 

~ld.m to the donor’s bounty, and eOn88qUULtl~ there Is no 

000a8fon r0r a liberal gonatruotioa 0r btiolo 7118, oven 

&ou.ld it be a88uIQed that there is baSi8 for oonstruetion OS 

the ffieeaning OS"direot lineal desoendant oi husband" to attompt 

to inoludo dlxeat lineal deroendant of divorord husband or 

SorneE himband. 

It 18 th8 Opioiom OS this d@pU%Em&, thWS@Ze, 

thst tha &u&d of a divoroed husband ior iaheritano. tar 

pwposem should be oltusiried a8 suoh a~thor person* roarrod to in Artiole '?u& and that 8hO i8~ Subjo& to the protiSiOll8 thU’.Of. 

Opinion 80. O-70430, ha?qtofon addressed to you, 

18 on a ol.osely related qurrtion e#d is reIo@red to your 

attention. 

TOUWS T*r;l t-y