To assist the inheritance tax referee appointed in any
proceeding to determine tax (see Revenue and Taxation Code Sections
14501
through
14577,
and Probate Code Sections
1170 through
1175) in
arriving at his determination as to whether any tax imposed by the Inheritance
Tax Law is due on any transfer of property by a decedent, the following
documents must be submitted to the referee:
(a) The original and two copies of any
inventory prepared pursuant to Section
600 of the
Probate Code.
(b) Two copies of the
decedent's will, if any, including any codicils thereto.
(c) The original and one copy of Form IT-22,
entitled "Inheritance Tax Declaration." This should be executed by the executor
of the decedent's will, the administrator of the decedent's estate, or any
other person having actual knowledge of the facts required. Copies of the
declaration form may be obtained from the referee or from the Division of Tax
Administration-Inheritance Tax of the Controller's office in Los Angeles,
Sacramento, or San Francisco. (See also Section
14501.1).
(d) The original and one copy of form IT-3,
entitled "Marital Property Declaration," where the distribution of the estate
is determined by the character of the property as either community,
quasi-community or separate property, or where the decedent was survived by a
spouse and under the terms of the decedent's will admitted to probate the
surviving spouse is forced to make an election or during the decedent's
lifetime the decedent and the surviving spouse entered into an agreement
concerning the character of their property. In all other cases, the form IT-3
is not normally required; however, the Controller's office may require the form
IT-3 be completed and submitted in any case where the information contained
thereon is necessary to determine the proper amount of inheritance tax due. The
declaration should be executed by the decedent's surviving spouse. If this is
for some reason impossible, it may be executed by any person having actual
knowledge of the facts required. In the latter event, the person making the
declaration should add a paragraph explaining the reason for not submitting the
spouse's declaration and setting forth the declarant's connection with the
decedent and his or her means of knowledge of answers to the
questions.
(e) The original and one
copy of Form IT-2, entitled "Declaration Concerning Residence," if it is
claimed that the decedent was a nonresident of California at the time of his
death.
If no court proceeding is pending or contemplated, and it
is desired to secure the Controller's consent to transfer intangible property
belonging to the estate of a decedent who was domiciled outside the State of
California, the request for the Controller's consent should be made on form
IT-23, entitled "Residence Affidavit and Request for Consent to Transfer," and
form IT-23A, entitled "Rider to be Attached to Residence Affidavit and Request
for Consent to Transfer, Form IT-23, in Cases Where Decedent was a Nonresident
not a Citizen of the United States," in cases where the decedent was a
nonresident of the United States, filed with the Division of Tax
Administration-Inheritance Tax in Los Angeles, Sacramento or San Francisco.
Copies of the forms may be obtained from the Division of Tax
Administration-Inheritance Tax. (See also Sections
13303.4,
13851.1 and
14345.1).
(f) Two copies of any petition filed pursuant
to Sections
1170 through
1175 of the
Probate Code to establish the fact of the decedent's death.
(g) An affidavit executed by any joint tenant
of the decedent's who survived the latter's death, if it is claimed that such
tenant made any contribution to the acquisition of the joint tenancy property.
(See Sections
13554 and
13671
through
13671.5,
and Revenue and Taxation Code Sections
13671 and 13671.5). There is no
prescribed form for this affidavit. It may be incorporated in the space
provided in the Inheritance Tax Declaration, Form IT-22, or by a rider or
exhibit attached thereto. A full statement should be made explaining the
transactions whereby the joint tenancy titles involved were created, giving in
regard to each item the date of acquisition, the net amount invested by the
decedent and by the survivor, and the economic origin of the survivor's
contribution. Stating that the survivor's investment was made with his own or
separate property is not sufficient since this would be true if the decedent
had some time in the past given to the survivor the money or property which was
later reinvested in the joint tenancy property. If such were the case, the
survivor's contribution would be subject to inheritance tax.
(h) Two copies of any trust or other
instrument by which the decedent made any transfer during his lifetime (see
Revenue and Taxation Code Sections
13641
through
13648),
together with two copies of a list of the property, as of the date of the
decedent's death, included in such transfer.
(i) In the case of a transfer by the decedent
of listed inactive stock, of unlisted stock not actively traded in, or of stock
of a closed corporation, balance sheets of the issuing corporation as of a date
as near to the date of death as is practicable, and profit and loss statements
of the corporation for each of the five years immediately preceding the date of
death. Copies of balance sheets and statements already prepared by the
company's accountant should be submitted. The number of shares outstanding and
the nature of the business in which the company is engaged must be
shown.
(j) If a transfer consisted
of a parcel of real property, the most recent real property tax bill, or other
satisfactory evidence of ad valorem tax value, covering such parcel.
(k) If any property transferred was subject
to a bona fide lien or other encumbrance which reduced the market value of the
property at the date of death, a copy of the lien or encumbrance instrument, or
a statement of the terms thereof.
(l) Such other documents and copies of the
foregoing as may be of assistance to the referee in determining whether any tax
is due.
If a referee has been appointed to determine tax in a
probate proceeding, the aforementioned documents should be submitted to the
referee by the executor of the decedent's will or the administrator of the
decedent's estate.
