Hocking Valley Ry. Co. v. White
Hocking Valley Ry. Co. v. White
Opinion of the Court
In the disposition of this case, it is hardly necessary to determine whether the probate court, or the common pleas court on appeal, had jurisdiction to order and direct the executor of the will of Nancy Maxon Gilman to pay out of her estate to the administrator of Hiram Maxon’s estate sufficient money to pay the debts of that estate and the costs of administration. It is undoubtedly true that Section 10783, General Code, does confer upon the probate court the right
Nor is it important to determine whether the demurrers to the several separate answers of the defendants should have been sustained. The record here does not show that Charles W. White, as administrator de bonis non with the will annexed of Hiram Maxon, deceased, is entitled to an order to sell this real estate to pay debts of his testator. He does aver in his petition that the personal estate and effects of said testator “is but - dollars, being wholly insufficient to pay the debts and costs aforesaid.” Conceding that this is an averment that there is no personal property whatever, yet the admitted facts in this case positively show that such an averment is not true. On the contrary, it does appear that some personal estate came into the possession of Nancy Maxon, for which she has not accounted. It further appears that the real estate of which Hiram Maxon died seized was sold by her and the proceeds of such sale came into the possession of the executrix of his last will and testament, and these proceeds have not been applied to the payment of the debts of the estate and no account has been filed thereof.
It is true that the record discloses no moral turpitude on the part of Nancy Maxon Gilman. She, undoubtedly, honestly believed that the debts were all paid, and that, being the sole devisee of the lands, she was entitled to deal with them as her own in her individual capacity and not in her trust capacity. But the fact now appears that the debts were not all paid, and that she was not entitled to this land, or the proceeds thereof, until the debts were paid. So that the rule of law is just the same as if she had purposely sought to obtain the property of this estate, under the will of her deceased husband, without paying his debts.
The will of Hiram Maxon devised all of his estate, personal and real, to his widow, Nancy Maxon, absolutely and in fee simple. This, of course, was necessarily subject to the payment of all his debts. Nancy Maxon was appointed executrix, but it does not appear that she ever performed any of the duties of this trust or ever paid any of these debts. It certainly does appear that she did not pay this debt or provide for its payment out of the estate of her testator. That she undertook to sell and dispose of this land as devisee thereof and not as executrix, does not release her from accounting for the proceeds thereof. If there was not sufficient personal property to pay all the debts of Hiram Maxon, in-
In the absence of evidence to the contrary, and in view of the finding of the common pleas and probate court, the original appraised value of this
It is not now important, nor even pertinent, to a discussion of the question involved here as to what may be the remedy, if any, of the creditors of the estate of Hiram Maxon in case his estate is unable to recover from the estate of Nancy Maxon Gilman, the amount of the personal property and the proceeds of the sale of the real estate that came into her hands while she was acting in a trust capacity as executrix of the will of Hiram Maxon. Nor is it important that in case it should be found that the creditors would still have the right to compel a sale of this land for the satisfaction of their debts, whether equity would subject the lands to the payment of these debts in the inverse order of their sale, as in other cases of liens. It does not now appear that these questions will ever arise in this case, and, if they do, it will be time enough to dispose of them when they are properly presented.
The first duty of this administrator de bonis non with the will annexed of Hiram Maxon, deceased, is to compel an accounting by the executor of Nancy Maxon Gilman of the administration of her trust as executrix of the will of Hiram Maxon, deceased. It now appears that when he has done
In contemplation of law, these funds are still in her possession, as executrix, or rather in the possession of her personal representative, to be accounted for and turned over to her successor in the trust. If she has actually appropriated them to her own use, then her estate must restore the trust fund, and it is the duty of this administrator de bonis non to see that that is promptly done. The executor of her will should file an account of her administration of her husband’s, estate, and, in that account, she must be charged not only with the personal property that came into her possession, but with such sums as she received from the sale of this real estate, allowing to her estate proper credit for payments made by her, as such executrix, on behalf of said estate, and he must pay over to the administrator de bonis non the balance found due from her, as executrix, to the estate of Hiram Maxon, or' at least sufficient thereof to pay all debts and costs of administration. Anything over and above that amount, her estate would be entitled to receive under the will of Hiram Maxon, deceased. If the executor of her will fails and neglects to do this, then it is the
This disposes of all the questions necessary to a determination of this case. The probate court and the common pleas court erred in granting the prayer of this petition and ordering the sale of this real estate to pay the debts of the estate of Hiram Maxon, deceased, and the circuit court erred in affirming the judgment of the common pleas court. Upon the admitted facts, the petition should have been dismissed and the administrator de bonis non required to proceed against the personal representative of his predecessor in trust to compel an accounting and payment to him of any balance in her hands as such trustee.
The judgment of the common pleas court, ordering the sale of these lands, and the judgment of the circuit court affirming that judgment, are reversed, and the petition of the administrator de bonis non with the will annexed of Hiram Maxon, deceased, is dismissed without prejudice.
Jtidgment reversed and judgment for plaintiff in error. 0
Reference
- Full Case Name
- The Hocking Valley Ry. Co. v. White, Administrator de bonis non Bradbury v. White, Admr., etc. Black v. White, Admr., etc.
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Sole devisee appointed executor — Sells land in individual capacity— Must apply proceeds to pay debts of testator, when — Must account for full value of sale — ■Duty of personal representative of deceased executor to compel accounting — Law governing trust property. 1. Where the sole devisee of lands is appointed executor of the will of the testator and sells such lands in his individual capacity as devisee, the proceeds of the sale come into his hands as executor, and where the personal estate is insufficient to pay the debts of the testator, he must apply the proceeds of the sale of such lands to the payment thereof. 2. Where such lands are sold at private sale for their full value, the executor must account for the total amount of the purchase price received by him, if necessary for the payment of debts. If sold for less than the full value, he must, nevertheless, account for the full value thereof. 3. Where the executor dies or resigns without filing any account of the administration of his trust, it is the duty of his successor in the trust to compel an accounting and payment to him of any balance due from such executor to said estate. 4. Where an executor dies without filing any account of the administration of his trust, it is the duty of his personal representative to file an account for him and pay over to the successor in the trust any balance that may be found due the estate from the deceased executor.