74 Mo. App. 191 | Mo. Ct. App. | 1898
— In 1876 the probate court of Cape Girardeau county appointed the respondent curator of the estate of Thomas C. Bowie, a minor. The respondent received in cash $3,714.42 belonging to his ward. He made his last settlement in that court in May, 1883. On that settlement there was a balance due the ward of $4,201.08. The Cape Girardeau court of common pleas of that county is also clothed with the jurisdiction
The only heirs of Bowie are Margaret Gr. Rowe, his mother, and Cornelia D. Rowe, his half sister, who are the objectors and appellants in this proceeding. In May, 1897, the respondent presented to the court a final settlement of his accounts as guardian. The mother and sister appeared and filed several objections to the settlement, some of which the court sustained. Thereupon the court restated the account from 1884, making annual statements thereof. It found a balance due from the respondent on the final settlement of $585, which was ordered to be paid to the heirs. From the judgment approving the final settlement the heirs have appealed to this court.
In restating the account the court charged the respondent eight per cent interest for each year on the entire amount of money in his hands, as shown by the inventory, except the sum of $1,000, which amount was loaned by respondent to Margaret Gr. Rowe, the appellant, and which she had not repaid when her son died. Under the order of the court of common pleas this money was loaned without interest to enable Mrs. Rowe to purchase a home for herself and son. The latter was affected with epilepsy and he required the
The first complaint made by the appellant is, that the court committed error in allowing the respondent credit for the loss of $120 on the Hensley note. The court found that the respondent was guilty of no laches or bad faith in making the loan and taking the security, and that in selling and reselling the property he acted .in good faith and with due diligence. In these findings the court is supported by the evidence. But the further contention is made that the Hensley note bore ten per cent interest, and that the respondent should have been charged with that rate in his settlements, and that if this had been done the difference between eight and ten per cent interest would have overbalanced the amount of the alleged loss. The abstract of the respondent contains the statement that after the transfer of the estate to the court of common pleas, the interest on the Hensley note was reduced to eight per cent. The evidence upon which that statement is made is not given. The settlements, however,
It is next insisted that the respondent should not be allowed commissions for the years in which he failed to file statements of his account. The disallowance of commissions rests in the sound discretion of the court. If the trustee fails entirely to perform his duties, he should not be allowed compensation. We have no such case here. The respondent took care of the trust estate during the whole time, and he was only derelict in failing to make annual statements of his accounts for the two or three years of the time.
There are other assignments which we will not discuss as the result would not be different. Our conclusion is that the appellants have no just grounds of complaint.
In 1876 the respondent received $3,714.42 belonging to his ward. He immediately loaned the money, and with the interest received he boarded and clothed his helpless ward for seventeen years, and he also paid
With the concurrence of the other judges the judgment of the court of common pleas will be affirmed.
It is so ordered.