237 Pa. 528 | Pa. | 1912
Opinion by
Robert H. Acklin died April 15, 1908, testate and leaving a widow, Mary M. Acklin, and three daughters. By his will, of which the Citizens Title & Trust Company of Uniontown, Pa., was executor, he directed that part of his real estate, including the premises here in controversy, should be sold by his executor, and one-third of the proceeds should be invested, the income to be paid to his widow during her life, and upon her death, the principal to be paid to his daughters, to whom he
On November 7,1910, the widow presented a petition, alleging that the sale was the result of a conspiracy among the other legatees to defraud her; that the price realized was so grossly inadequate as to amount to a constructive fraud; and that the sale was invalid in law because the will worked a conversion of the land sold, into money, and consequently the testator’s debts were not liens upon it. She prayed that the sale be set aside and revoked, the deed surrendered and canceled, and the purchase money returned by the executor to the purchasers. A citation was granted and answers were filed by the executor and the purchasers. After hearing, the court below dismissed the petition, stating in its opinion that no evidence had been offered to support the charge of conspiracy, and it was therefore disregarded. The remaining questions, raised by this appeal, are whether the court below had jurisdiction to order the sale, and whether the sale should have been set aside on the ground of inadequacy of price.
As to the question of inadequacy of price, that was a matter peculiarly within the discretion of the court below. Only a palpable abuse'of that discretion can justify interference by this court. No such abuse is shown here. It does not appear that any better price has been offered for the property, nor is any security tendered to insure a higher price at a resale. The petitioner was slow in moving. She waited more than two years after the sale was confirmed, the purchase money
The assignments of error are overruled, and the order and decree of the Orphans’ Court is affirmed.