134 Ark. 71 | Ark. | 1918
This suit originated in the probate court of Craighead County. At the October term, 1916, thereof an order was made on application of appellant, appointing G. W. Culberhouse to appraise the property of W. T. Lane, deceased, for the purpose of ascertaining the inheritance tax due thereon to the State, and on the 26th day of December thereafter an appraisement of said property was filed by G. W. Culberhouse. On December 14, 1916, the State of Arkansas, through special counsel, filed a petition in said court against appellees for the same purpose. On January 15, 1917, appellees filed a formal petition in said court for the same purpose. On January 18 thereafter appellant, through special counsel, filed an answer and exceptions to the petition of appellees and exceptions to the appraisement of G. W. Culberhouse. The court consolidated the proceedings, and, upon hearing, exempted the present value of the homestead and the value of the dower interest of Mattie Lane, widow of W. T. Lane, deceased, from the payment of an inheritance tax, and charged the estate with $3,218.25, inheritance tax, and also fixed the attorneys’ fees at $321.82, and also found that appellees had paid said amount, less $190, to the Treasurer of the State. This order was rendered on the 22d day of March, 19.17, from which an .appeal was immediately prosecuted by the State, through its special counsel, to the circuit court. Appellees appeared in the circuit court and. moved to dismiss the appeal, which motion was overruled. The circuit court tried the case, sitting as a jury, sustained the findings of the probate court, .ascertained that appellees had paid the additional $190 adjudged against the estate by the probate court, and dismissed .the application of the State, from which the State bas prosecuted an appeal, through special counsel, to this court.
The material and undisputed facts necessary to a decision of the questions presented by the appeal are as follows: W. T. Lane, Sr., died testate on the 4th day of August, 1916. He bequeathed to Mattie Lane property valued at $107,450, and to W. T. Lane, Jr., property of the value of $39,725. Mattie Lane accepted and retained the property under the will. Mattie Lane became executrix, and W. T. Lane, Jr., executor of the will.
In re Sanford’s Estate, 133 N. W. (Neb.) 870; Chisholm v. Shields (Ohio), 66 N. E. 93; In re Stuyvesant’s Estate, 131 N. Y. Supp. 197; In re DeGraaf’s Estate, 53 N. Y. Supp. 591; Estate of Barbey, 114 N. Y. Supp. 725.
“No action, plea, prosecution or proceeding, civil or criminal, pending at the time any statutory provisions shall be repealed, shall be affected by such repeal, but the same shall proceed in all respects as if such statutory provision had not been repealed.”
It will be observed that the section just cited provides that pending actions shall proceed in aU respects as if the statutory provision under which the suit was brought had not been repealed. We think under the section just quoted the special counsel appointed by the Attorney General, and the Attorney General himself, had a right to proceed with all cases pending in the courts at the time Act'96, Acts 1917, was passed.
For the error indicated, the judgment is reversed and the cause remanded for further proceedings in accordance with law.