159 A. 890 | Conn. | 1932
The appellant in this court appealed to the Superior Court from an order of the Court of Probate for the district of Guilford authorizing the *691 defendant as administrator to sell certain real estate forming a part of the estate of John Beattie. The Superior Court confirmed the decree and the appellant has appealed to this court. The Court of Probate is authorized, upon the application of an administrator, to order the sale of real estate forming a part of an estate "if it shall find reasonable cause therefor." The only assets now in the hands of the administrator aside from real estate consist of cash to the amount of $7735.58. There are unpaid ante-mortem claims which have been allowed amounting to some $300. There are certain post-mortem claims amounting to $46,228.02 which have never been allowed or disallowed by the administrator; no formal action has been taken to determine the validity of these claims, but the administrator has carefully examined and investigated them and knows of no defense against them. There are expenses of administration consisting of counsel fees of $500 and of sums due the administrator for his services to the amount of $8500, which have been approved by the Court of Probate in an account filed by the administrator, and other administration expenses incurred since the filing of the account. There are also post-mortem claims amounting to $45,540.39 which the administrator has disallowed and to recover which an action is pending. The administrator has received at different times offers for the land included in the order of sale of $7500, $12,000, $20,000, $45,000 and the one which led to the present application, $66,500. The last offer is based upon a special opportunity of the bidder to sell from quarries on the land certain stone for a particular engineering work. The administrator in presenting the application placed before the court the facts as he understood them and left the decision to it without suggestion on his part.
While the fees of the administrator and his counsel *692
are spoken of in the finding as approved by the Court of Probate in the administrator's account, that account is clearly not a final one, nor does it appear that notice of its filing and an opportunity to be heard was given interested parties, and we cannot therefore regard the amounts named as adjudicated or fixed obligations of the estate. Lawrence v. Security Co.,
In determining whether or not an order of sale of the real estate of an estate should be made, the Court of Probate does not adjudicate the validity of claims against the estate, but only inquires into them so far as necessary to determine whether or not reasonable *693
cause exists to grant the order. Hall v. Meriden Trust Safe Deposit Co.,
There is no error.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.