Henning v. De Cora
Henning v. De Cora
Opinion of the Court
The matter is before us on an agreed statement of facts which respondent concedes are correctly sum
It should be added that, by order of the court, notice of the hearing of respondent’s petition was served upon Henning as well as the minors, and no question is raised as to the service. Henning appeared by answer and at the hearing by counsel.
2. The only error specified is that the evidence is insufficient to justify the finding and decision that the said minors were residents of this state when the order was made, and that the order appointing a guardian of the person of the minors is void. The code provisions upon the subject of appointing guardians are as follows: “A guardian of the person and estate . . . . may be appointed by will or by deed, to take effect upon the death of the parent appointing.” (Civ. Code, sec. 241.) “A guardian of the person or property, or both, of a person residing in this state, who is a minor, .... may be appointed in all cases, other than those named in section 241 by the superior court, as provided in the Code of Civil Procedure.” (Civ. Code, sec. 243.) “A guardian of the person is charged with the custody of the ward, and .... may fix the residence of the ward at any place within the state, but not elsewhere, without permission of the court.” (Civ. Code, see. 248.)
In the present case, guardian Shreve died and Henning resigned and was discharged. Section 1801 of the Code of Civil Procedure provides for such resignation and authorizes the court to appoint another guardian in the place of the one resigning. “The superior court .... may appoint guardians for the persons and estates, or either of them, of minors who
One of the guardians appointed by the will having died and the other having resigned and been 'discharged, the minors were without guardians appointed by will, and the court had jurisdiction to appoint, under the provisions of section 1747 of the Code of Civil Procedure, unaffected by the sections of the Civil Code referred to; the power was the same as if no appointments at all had been made by will; the death of one and resignation of the other guardian terminated the guardianship.
Eespondent relies upon Gronfier v. Puymirol, 19 Cal. 629, to support the order made here, but the legal soundness of the appointment need not rest upon that case. The parents of the minors were, at their death, domiciled here, and their domicile became the domicile of their children. As infants they were incapable themselves of changing their domicile> and as there is no evidence that it was changed by anyone having authority, or at all, for that matter, their domicile is still in the city and county of San Francisco. (Woerner’s Law of Guardianship, sec. 26, p. 80.) There is nothing in the record to show for what purpose the children were taken to South Carolina, and the order permitting their removal to that state, “to remain until the further order of the court,” indicates no intention to surrender jurisdiction of their persons; on the contrary, the order implies the retention of such jurisdiction. The fact that Henning was discharged without being ordered to return the wards to this state gives rise to no presumption that the court had abandoned its jurisdiction over the persons of the wards; their domicile still remained in San Francisco. They are absent from the state, but there is nó evidence tending in any way to show that their residence in South Carolina is anything but temporary. We cannot presume that their domicile is -changed, nor -can we presume that their residence has become permanent in South Carolina. Whatever presumptions are indulged upon these questions must be in favor of the jurisdiction.
Appellant cites numerous eases to show that it is a question of residence and not domicile which determines the power of
What may be or should be held in the event that a guardian of the persons should be appointed in South Carolina, and that the best interest of the minors should require that they permanently take up their abode in that state, and application should be made under the provisions of our code by their guardian appointed in that state to allow the removal of any property situated in this state, susceptible of removal, to the state of the ward’s residence, are questions which may be remitted to the tribunal before which they may come. The parties in ihterest may have the assurance that our courts will be governed by the enlightened spirit of comity which should prevail between sister states of the Union, subject to such legislative restrictions as our statutes impose and agreeably to established rules of law.
For the foregoing reasons the order is affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.