Supreme Court of Alabama, 1877

Hooper v. Smith T.

Hooper v. Smith T.
Supreme Court of Alabama · Decided December 15, 1877 · Stone
57 Ala. 557

Hooper v. Smith T.

Opinion of the Court

STONE, J.

1. After administration has been pending more than eighteen months, it is prima facie the right of ■distributees to call the personal representative to a settlement. If there be special reasons why settlement and distribution should not then be made, this is a defensive matter, the duty ■of showing which rests with the administrator.—Code of 1876, § 2528; Chighizoa v. LeBarron, 21 Ala. 406.

2. Before proceedings are instituted in the court of probate, looking to a settlement, distributees of the estate, without showing any special reason therefor, may file a. bill in the Chancery Court against the administrator and his -sureties, to have settlement made in the Chancery Court; .and, to this «nd, may have the administration transferred to *560such last-mentioned court.—Harrison v. Harrison, 9 Ala. 470, 479; Pearson v. Darrington, 18 Ala. 348; Gould v. Hays, 19 Ala. 438; Stewart v. Stewart, 31 Ala. 207; Sellers v. Sellers, 35 Ala. 235; McNeill v. McNeill, 36 Ala. 109; 1 Brick. Dig. 647, § 120.

There is no error in the record, and the decree of the-chancellor, overruling the demurrer to the bill, is affirmed.

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.