The Savannah morning news., 1902-02-18
DIVIDING PLANTS ESTATE.
Morton +. Plant VIII Get About
SI2,000.G1O of 1t.

S12.00O.G'iO of II.
The division of the state of the late
H. b. Plant estimated at between SIS
100000 and s2O,o00,OOO. is now being
made under the laws of New York
state The estate is being treated as
though Mr.. Plant had died intestate,
for the laws of New York will not per-
init such a suspension of the powers
of alienation as was provided for in
the will. The will provided that the
widow should receive an annuity of
$4,000 and that the residue of the
property should be held in trust until
the unborn son of the testator's grand
son, Henry Bradley Plant, ID, now
years old, should arrive at his major
fly. The widow will now get her third
and the rest goes to the only son, Nor
ton F. Plant.
Connecticut is said to be the only state
in the Union where the laws will per-
init such an entailment of an estate
as Mr.. Plant proposed. His intention
was to have the property held to-
aether so that it should become one
of the monumental fortunes of the
country. When he died in June, 1899,
the property was estimated to be worth
$4,000 000, and it has increased one
third in value since. To carry out his
plan Mr.. Plant had his lawyers ex-
anime the laws regulating the inher-
itance of estates in all the states and
found, it is said. that the laws of Con-
necticut were the only ones that would
allow such trust as he wished to Gre
ate. Mr.. Plant had at one time lived
in Connecticut, but he had for years
lived in New York city. To be able to
make his viii as a resident of Con-
necticut he went there. declared f1im-
self to he a resident and then went
to his house in New York. the whole
operation having taken less than seven
hours. He continued to refer to his
house in New York as 'home" and
gave no other sign that he had gone
to Connecticut for any other purpose
than TO take advantage of its laws in
regard to inheritances
When it became the duty of the at
torneys for the widow to attack the
will they had to prove two things.
One that the Probate Courts of Con-
necticut, in which the will establishing
the trust had been proved were not
courts whose DEGREES were entitled to
the full faith and credit" which the
constitution guarantees to the acts of
the courts of one state in those of an
other: the other that Mr. Plant was
not al the time he made a will
bone ide citizen of Connecticut, but of
New York In order to prove the first
contention it was necessary to show
that the Probate Courts of Connecticut
We're not of the class of the Surrogate's
Courts Of New York, and did not in
Connecticut receive that consideration
from the other courts of record that
would entitle their acts to full faith
and credit in the courts of New York
state This was established, and the
fact was brought out that the Probate
Courts of Connecticut are about $50
in number, and occupy a place of lit
tie distinction in the legal machine of
the state.
Having established this. the lawyers
showed that the testatOr moved
to Connecticut for few hours solely
for the purpose of making his will
there, and that his change of residence
was not such a one as the courts could
regard as being made in good faith.
When this was established the will it
self was brought to the attention of the
courts of New York. and it was at
tackled on the ground that the laws
there do not permit such a suspension
of the powers of alienation. The courts
held that the will was invalid, and
that the estate should be treated as
though Mr.. Plant had died intestate.
The actual division will be prosecuted
as rapidly as the great bulk of the
property ana the interests concerned
will allow.
The executors appointed under au-
thority of the Connecticut courts hand
ed in their accounts, which were ap-
proved, and then they resigned.
Letters testamentary had previously
been issued in New York to Mrs. Plant,
Morton F. Plant and George II.
Tilley. They are carrying out the or
ders of the court, and dividing the
property. All of it lies in New York
state. the bulk of the fortune being in
the form of stock of the company
which Mr.. Plant founded for the de-
velopment of his interests in the South.
New York state will receive some
thing like 100000 as an inheritance tax
from the estate, which would have been
lost to it had the viii been established.
Had this been paid in before the be
ginning of the year the New York
City Controller would have received a
big fee for its collection, but as the
law now stands he can get no fee, and
the whole sum will go into the state
treasury. Connecticut has collected
GOO as inheritance tax.