38 Vt. 628 | Vt. | 1866
The opinion of the court was delivered by
It appears that Amos S. Ward died in June, 1865, leaving the defendant Philena, his widow ; that on the 27th day of June, 1865, letters of administration were duly granted to the defendant to administer upon the estate of her intestate; that the usual bond was given by her among other things to return an inventory of the estate within three months, and to settle her administration account within one year. The probate court appointed a committee to appraise the estate and gave the administratrix one year from the 27th of June,T865, to pay the debts against the estate. On the 3d day of July, 1865, the defendant as administratrix caused to be returned to the probate court an inventory and appraisal of the estate of Ward, amounting to the sum of two hundred and eighty-six dollars, and on the same day the probate court, by decree, assigned to the defendant, Philena Ward, the whole of the property named in the inventory, for the support of herself and children, subject to the expenses of administration and funeral charges. It further appears that Phelps, at the time of the decease of Amos S. Ward, was indebted to him in the sum of nineteen dollars and seventy-three, cents,
No commissioners of claims were appointed upon the estate, and after the assignment, within three months from the day on which letters of administration were granted to the defendant, the plaintiff commenced this suit against the administratrix upon a claim which accrued in the lifetime of the intestate, and summoned Phelps as trustee. It further appears that the plaintiff, before the justice court, obtained judgment by default against the defendant; that Phelps appeared, made his disclosure, and was adjudged trustee, from, which judgment he appealed.
The important inquiry is whether Phelps is liable as trustee of the administratrix Philena Ward; and as the decision of the question depends almost entirely upon our probate laws, I will first consider some of their provisions, and the jurisdiction of probate courts in the settlement of estates, and then proceed to examine the main question in the case. Section 12 of chapter 48 of the General Statutes provides that, “ the probate court shall have jurisdiction of the probate of wills, of the settlement of testate and intestate estates, of the appointment of guardians, and of the powers, duties and rights of guardians and wards.” The law in this state is well settled by a long and uniform course of decisions, that courts of probate have the exclusive jurisdiction of matters coming properly within their cognizance ; and our probate laws give the entire jurisdiction of the settlement of estates to the probate courts, in the same manner and to the same extent that the jurisdiction of other matters of contract or tort inter vivos is given to the common law courts, Adams v. Adams, 22 Vt. 50.
Section 28 of the same chapter provides that the county court shall have appellate jurisdiction of all matters originally within the jurisdiction of the probate court; but the jurisdiction of the county court, as an appellate court in the probate matters, is measured only by the extent of the jurisdiction of the probate court. It is an appellate court for the rehearing and re-examination of all subjects-which have been acted upon in the court below. Adams v. Adams, 21 Vt. 162.
And the jurisdiction of the probate court in the settlement of estates is so exclusive that even the court of chancery do not interfere generally, and when that court have interfered in the settlement of estates it has been merely in aid of the probate court, and where it was not in the power of the latter to administer the same justice which could be done in- a court of equity; and although the court of chancery retains its ancillary jurisdiction to the same extent over matters in the probate court which it has over those in the common law courts, its concurrent jurisdiction in the settlement of estates is limited and seldom exercised. Adams v. Adams, 22 Vt. 50.
It is worthy of remark that our statutes have provided in the probate court a summary, expeditious, cheap and uniform mode of proceeding for the proof, adjustment and allowance of claims against the estates of deceased persons, and of claims in set-off thereto, and the policy of the law excludes the original jurisdiction of common law courts except in the few eases excepted by the statute. If claimants were in the first instance required to resort to common law courts, and to incur the expense of such court to establish their cla.lma against the estate, without the right to recover costs, it would in many cases result in total loss of the claims; while on the other hand if the costs of trial in common law courts should be added to the claims when established, it might prove ruinous both to the estate and claimants.
The claim of the plaintiff accrued and became absolute in the life time of the deceased, and it was a proper claim to be adjusted by commissioners. But it is urged by the plaintiff that no commissioners having been appointed, he is authorized by the statute to proceed against the administratrix and the estate of the deceased in a common law court, and he relies principally upon section 57 of chap. 53 of the
It is urged by the plaintiff that his final judgment in the case against the defendant, has perfected his right to hold the debt against
The judgment obtained by the plaintiff against the defendant has not changed or affected the relation of the defendant to the Phelps
The judgment of the county court is reversed and Phelps is discharged with costs.