The United States v. Summerlin, Ancillary Administratrix case in 1939 revolved around the issue of whether a federal tax lien on property took precedence over a state's claim to the same property. The Supreme Court ruled that when it comes to competing claims between federal and state governments, the priority is determined by "the choateness of its inception." In this particular case, Florida had claimed an estate for unpaid inheritance taxes before the U.S government filed its claim for unpaid income taxes. However, because Florida's law required court proceedings to establish their debt while Federal law did not require such proceedings for theirs; hence making it more 'choate', or complete and perfected at an earlier date than Florida’s claim. Therefore, despite being later in time chronologically speaking, the Federal Government’s lien was given priority over that of Florida's.

In the dissenting opinion for United States v. Summerlin, Ancillary Administratrix, 1939, Justice Black argued that the majority's decision to allow a federal tax lien on property transferred before death was contrary to established principles of law and equity. He contended that this ruling would disrupt settled expectations and create uncertainty in property transactions. Furthermore, he disagreed with the majority's interpretation of relevant statutes as granting such broad powers to impose liens without clear congressional intent. According to him, Congress did not intend for these laws to apply retroactively or affect completed transfers prior to death. Therefore, he believed that the government should not be able to assert its claim against properties already conveyed by decedents during their lifetime.