39 Wash. 557 | Wash. | 1905
Lead Opinion
On tbe 28th day of September, 1904, one James Long was in a hospital in Seattle, seriously ill. Lie requested that an attorney be sent to draft for him a will. Appellant was thereupon sent for and appeared, and was having some conversation with Long relative to bis property and affairs, when said Long became suddenly worse, and died without having made any will. Appellant testified that Long told him that he resided in Seattle, and that be wished him (Stem) to look after bis affairs in case of bis death. Long bad never known or seen appellant until that day, a couple of hours before bis death. On tbe day following, appellant applied to tbe superior court, in King county, for special letters of administration upon said Long’s estate, which were granted by said court.
It is the contention of appellant' that the larger part of decedent’s estate was in King county, and that the court of either Snohomish or King county might exercise jurisdiction of the estate—the question as to which, to be controlled by the priority of the application or of the adjudication of the jurisdictional question; and that the granting of special letters by the King county court was an assumption by that court of jurisdiction, which deprived the Snohomish county court of all right to deal with the estate. We do not think this contention can be upheld. Bal. Code, § 6087, provides as follows:
“Wills shall be proved and Tetters testamentary or of administration shall be granted,—(1) In the county of which deceased was a resident, or had his place of abode at the time of his death; (2) In the county in which he may have died, leaving estate therein, and not being a resident of the state; (3) In the county in which any part of his estate may be, he having. died out of the state, and not having been a resident thereof at the time of his death.”
While it is claimed by appellant that decedent said he was a resident of King county, yet, upon the hearing of
It is urged by the appellant that respondent could not have been legally appointed, for the reason that forty days had not elapsed since the decedent’s death, during which period a preference right is given to certain heirs and next of kin. We do not think this objection can be raised by appellant, as he does not claim to belong to any of the classes for whom such preference right is provided, except that of
Certain other errors are suggested, but it is urged by respondent that no proper exceptions were reserved. The exceptions axe insufficient. However, an examination of the matters complained of convinces us that there are no errors which would justify a disturbance of the order and decree of the trial court. The same is therefore affirmed.
Reported in 81 Pac. 1007.
Concurrence Opinion
(concurring)—When a resident of this state dies, I am of the opinion that jurisdiction to appoint either a special or general administrator is vested exclusively in the superior court of the county in which the decedent resided at the time of his death. For this reason I think the appointment of a special administrator by the superior court of King county, under the circumstances stated in the opinion of the court, was without jurisdiction and utterly void. I therefore concur in the judgment.