Opinion
May 21, 1951.
Appeal from Surrogate's Court of the County of Nassau.
Power granted to a life tenant to invade the corpus as necessary for her support does not enlarge her interest from that of a life estate to one in fee. ( Matter of Stevens, 241 App. Div. 490; Matter of Ithaca Trust Co., 220 N.Y. 437; Matter of Sievert, 246 App. Div. 457; Hasbrouck v. Knoblauch, 130 App. Div. 378. ) Section 153 Real Prop. of the Real Property Law does not have that effect. ( Hasbrouck v. Knoblauch, supra.) Accordingly, the interest of the testator's widow, as such life tenant, in the corpus was not "indefeasibly vested" within the meaning of subdivision a of section 249-q Tax of the Tax Law, and the exemption afforded by that statute is not applicable. (See Matter of Benson, 275 App. Div. 226; cf. Matter of Walsh, 277 App. Div. 113 3.) Nolan, P.J., Johnston, Adel, Sneed and Wenzel, JJ., concur. [ 197 Misc. 726.]