SIR JOSEPH WARD'S ESTATE.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20788, 23 February 1933, Page 8

SIR JOSEPH WARD'S ESTATE.

PETITION BEFORE THE | HOUSE. ! i REFUND OF PORTION OF DEATH DUTIES DESIRED. [From Our Parliamentary IlEroitTKß.. WELLINGTON, February 22. A refund of portion of the death duties paid in the estate of Sir Joseph Ward is sought in a petition signed by Sir Cyril Ward, of Christchureh, baronet; Vincent Aubrey Ward, of Wellington, company director; Gladstone William Ward, of Christchureh, Balesman; and Eileen Josephine Wood, wife of B. B. Wood, of Christchureh, merchant, and presented to Parliament today. Petitioners and Awarua Patrick Ward, formerly of Wellington but now temporary resident in the United States of America, are beneficiaries under their father's will. The estate is vcsteJ in the Public Trustee as executor and sole trustee. The petition says that the principal portion of the estate consisted of landed property in Auckland, Wellington, Christchureh, and Invercargill. The liquid assets of the estate, consisting of cash at bank, life insurance policies, government stock and shares, wore more than sufficient to satisfy the liabilities and obligations of testator, but owing to the high government valuation of tlio landed property and the fact that under a provision of the Death Duties Act it is not feasible to deduct as liability guarantees given by testator in his life time, the total death duties payable amounted to approximately £76,000, of which £70,515 or thereabouts had been paid. Tho petition says that Sir Joseph Ward made the following cash provisions for his children:—Cyril, £I2OO annually; Mrs Wood, £IOOO annually; and "Vincent, Gladstone, and Patrick, £BOO each; such' payments to J>e made out of the residuary ©state for such periods as the trustees shall think proper.

Transfer of Shares. Continuing, the petition says that to enable Sir Joseph Ward to devote more attention to the public business of the Dominion in his capacity as Prime Minister, he transferred to members of his family his quota of shares in the Canadian Knight and Whippet Motor Company, Limited, formed by him for the purpose of importing and disposing of motor-cars in respect of which certain American and English agencies had been acquired by him. As consideration for. receipt of the shares Sir Joseph Ward arranged for his children to guarantee the repayment of certaift advances made and "to be made by the Bank of New Zealand to the Whippet Company. About April, 1932, the company went into voluntary liquidation. The probable dividend payable in the liquidation of tho * company to its creditors would not exceed 6s in the £. As a consequence petitioners and Patrick Ward had been called upon to pay or provide for the payment of their respective guarantees to the bank. The petition also states that Sir Joseph Ward was interested in two companies, Itiver Shingle and Sand, J/t.d.,and Hutt lliver Shingle Company. Ltd., both formed for the purpose of winning and disposing of sand and shingle from the Hutt river for buil& ing purposes. Sir Joseph Ward arranged for the transfer of the shares \eld in the Hutt Kiver Shingle Company bo certain of. the shareholders in the Whippet Company. As a consideration for the transfer ho arranged that Vincent Ward should guarantee the Bank of New Zealand in respect to advances by the bank to the shingle company. These companies, although not in actual liquidation, are insolvent, and Vinoeat Ward has been called upon to pay the amount guaranteed by him to the hank. In addition, Sir Joseph Ward had entered into gauir&ntees ift respect of both the Whippet Company and the Mi ingle company * and the Public Trusted has been required to pay out of the estate the amount of those guarantees. Under the Death Duties Act no allowance could legally be made m assessing the talue of the estate for death duty purposes in respect to these guarantees, nor was any allow»u°e for the liability of Sir Joseph Ward under guarantees given by him. A claim for deduction had since been made by the Public Trustee in respect or Sir Joseph Ward's guarbut the claim had not been settled. Consequent on the fact that the government valuations, on landed properties at Sir Joseph Ward's death were excessive and the guarantees mentioned were not deducted, the estate was assessed as worth £201,000. Jpsmculty had been experienced in finding cash for the payment of the death duties. It had also been difficult to find tenants at a reagonabla rental for properties highly valued and in reBpfcct of which high rates had to be paid, thus the Public Trustee was unable to give effect to the provisions relating ix> the arimial payments to members of the family and had informed i , no furt j' er distributions th-f i* *2*® out of the remainder of tne estate for some tjme.

Net Value of Estate.

In December, 1932, the Public Trustee estimated tho net value of the e&tatp after, providing for guarantees and liabilities and payment of death duties, to be £60.375. If the amount of death duties psid wer6 a&ded, petitioners suggested that the actual not value of the estate prior to the payment of death duties was £140,000. on which amount death' duties would be approximately £35.000. It" was therefore claimed that petitioners had not i July paid to the state .twice the strait' for death duties that should reasonably have been paid, but were at presenlt without income from the shares in the estate left to them under the will. The present circumstances of the family are described in the petition as. 1 ' o'laws : > 5 V r Cyril Ward has a family oi six children and heavy eominitpionts; Mrs YV'ood has two children and is entirely without means except from her sliare in :,lie osLitc; Gladstone Ward has two children, is unemployed owing to tho depression, and is entirely dependent on his share in tho estate: Yin. ecnt Ward was a member of Parliament, but owing to the liability which he had incurred to enable his father to be free frotn private business affairs of a harassing nature, he was compelled to resign his position and devote his wholts time to thfe affairn of thß Whippet Compnuy an<3 shingle companv and I Uniting generally the Public Trustee 1 1» the administration of the est&to; Pat-

rick Ward has by tho the Whippet Company lost Ua'iHHH ment and is entirely depe»aftsl!jffl|MM share in the estate. 1 'VVjuflH While recognising that in this nature, whether rem»n<jff|pfllMH not, substantial death daties paid, the petition snbmila,; fair and equitable that compMHHH should be made to xnerabcru oil ily in the form of a refund IpflM part of ths death duties as rtmf MEMm sidercd just. They that the House' should quiry to be made into the inattfi»sgß|| tioned and. that the jVMH|9 be heard before t-kp Committee mji||| House. t ( j,