318 Mass. 101 | Mass. | 1945
These are four eases that come before us on
The First and Second Cases.
The first case before us is a petition by Viola M. Waitt, as wife and next friend of Henry F. Waitt, praying that the decree of the Probate Court dated June 18, 1928, appointing George Stanley Harvey, Esquire (now deceased), and Walter I. Badger, Esquire, as guardians of Henry as a spendthrift be vacated. This petition was filed on May 25, 1942. After hearing, the petition was dismissed by the judge by decree dated April 26, 1944, and the petitioner appealed as wife and next friend of the ward. An appeal was also taken in the name of the ward by attorneys purporting to represent him. While this proceeding was pending before the court, E. Max Gladstone, Esquire, who had been appointed guardian ad litem to represent the interests of the two minor children of the ward and Mrs. Waitt therein, filed a petition that Mrs. Waitt be removed as next friend of the ward, and that a disinterested party be appointed to act as next friend of the ward. After hearing, the acting judge of probate, hereinafter referred to as the judge, entered decrees dated April 26, 1944, upon that petition and a similar- one filed by the legal guardian of Virginia, a daughter of the ward by a prior marriage, that Mrs. Waitt “be . . . removed from acting as ‘next friend’ for the spendthrift . . . in all matters pending before said court and . . . prohibited from acting in . . ■ [that] capacity ... in this court without the permission of said court so to act.” Mrs. Waitt appealed
The entry in the first case and in the second case will be
Appeals dismissed.
The Third Case.
This case comes before us on appeals from a decree entered by the acting judge of probate, hereinafter referred to as the judge, appointing Golda R. Walters, an attorney at law, as temporary guardian of the ward as a spendthrift, and from the final decree entered by the same judge appointing Mrs. Walters as permanent guardian of the ward to serve with his legal guardian, Mr. Badger, in place of Mr. Harvey whose resignation as coguardian had been accepted by the Probate Court on May 31, 1944, and who had deceased prior to the hearing of the petition for appointment of a coguardian. The petition for the appointment of Arthur W. Blakemore, Esquire, as coguardian was
The evidence is reported and the judge made a report of the material facts found by him. Under the familiar rule it is our duty to examine the evidence and to decide the case according to our own judgment giving due weight to the findings of the judge which will not be reversed unless plainly wrong.
At the outset we dispose of the appeals of Mrs. Waitt, and that taken in the name of the ward by attorneys purporting to represent him, from the decree appointing the temporary guardian. When the case now being considered by us was argued before us, we were advised as in the first case and second case, disposed of above, that Mrs. Waitt had discharged her attorneys and' abandoned the prosecution of her appeals in all of the proceedings before us, and she was called and defaulted. It follows that her appeals must be dismissed. In like manner and for the reasons set forth in the determination of the first and second cases, the appeal taken in the name of the ward by attorneys purporting to represent him must be dismissed. The appeal of Mr. Badger, the legal guardian, in the name of the ward, from the decree appointing the temporary guardian
The hearing of the petition for the appointment of the coguardian consisted for the most part of statements by counsel for Mr. Gladstone, other than the counsel for him before mentioned, to the effect that, by reason of the fact that after a hearing on June 21, 1944, the guardian of the ward had withdrawn certain deposits of moneys of the ward from Plymouth County banks, it was apparent that
The judge incorporated in his report of material facts the material facts found by him with respect to the petitions to revoke the decree appointing the temporary guardian. He found the facts relative to the attempted settlement of the litigation which have already been outlined; that Mr. Badger had stated to him at prior conferences that he desired to resign and have his accounts allowed in Plymouth and Middlesex counties (as trustee under the will of the ward’s grandmother); that following a hearing before the judge on June 21, 1944, Mr. Badger had withdrawn funds of the estate of the guardian from two banks in Plymouth County; that this was done in “preparation of ultimately ousting the court of its jurisdiction”; that Mr. Badger had stated to one of the judges of probate for the county of Middlesex that he would be on duty in the State Guard in July, 1944, and his absence would leave no active guardian to function during that period; and that it was “stated” that if Mr. Badger’s death should occur during maneuvers or by natural causes the guardianship would terminate by operation of law allowing the estate to come into the hands of the spendthrift without adequate protection for him or his family. The judge further found that it was for the best interests of the ward and his family that the guardianship be continued in Plymouth County and that the appointment of a temporary guardian was necessary to protect the interests of the ward and his family. The further finding of the judge that Mr. Badger acted in bad faith in withdrawing the deposits from the Plymouth County banks is not supported by the evidence. A recital of the judge’s further findings relative to the attempted adjustment of the litigation by the
In the view that we take of the evidence, we are of opinion that the finding of the judge that the interests of the ward and of his family would best be served by the appointment of a coguardian is plainly wrong and that the findings made by the judge upon which he reached that conclusion are not sound. The evidence does not disclose any emergency or necessity that would justify the appointment of a stranger as coguardian at the instance of a stranger against the wishes of those most interested in the ward’s affairs by ties of relationship and of obligations owed to those through whom his fortune was derived. It is obvious that there could be only discord resulting from the appointment of Mrs. Walters, who in prior proceedings as attorney in behalf of the petitioner, Mr. Gladstone, had antagonized the wife of the spendthrift just as Mr. Gladstone had antagonized her to no real purpose in his properly ineffectual attempt in connection with the first case to bring about her removal as guardian of her children in the State of Maine, where they resided with her and the ward, when, by virtue of the appointment of Mr. Gladstone as guardian ad litem of the children, any right that she may have had to represent them as their legal guardian by virtue of her appointment by the Probate Court for the county of Middlesex or elsewhere ceased under the terms of G. L. (Ter; Ed.) c. 201, § 37. See Appeal of Waitt, 140 Maine, 109. We are constrained to express our disapproval of that action on the part of Mr. Gladstone and also of the action of the judge of probate for the county of Plymouth who sanctioned it.
If a necessity exists for the appointment of a disinterested person as a fiduciary, the one- chosen should be disinterested in the complete sense, lest hostility between him and any person having a real interest disrupt the orderly adminis
On all the facts and the law, and in the exercise of our discretion, we conclude that the petition of Mr. Gladstone as purported guardian ad litem and next friend of the minor children of the ward and his wife should not have been granted, that the interlocutory decree appointing Mrs. Walters as temporary guardian and the final decree appointing her as coguardian should be reversed, and that the petition should be dismissed.
The appeals of Viola M. Waitt and that in the name of Henry F. Waitt, the spendthrift, by counsel purporting to act as his attorneys, must be dismissed. The interlocutory decree appointing the temporary guardian and the final decree appointing the coguardian are reversed and the petition is dismissed.
So ordered.
The Fourth Case.
This is an appeal from a decree entered in thé Probate Court upon the motion of Arthur W. Blakemore for the allowance of a bill for services and disbursements as an attorney at law. The bill is in the following form:
“In the matter of Henry F. Waitt . . .
Bill dated June 1,1944 to the Guardians of Henry F. Waitt by Arthur W. Blakemore, attorney for E. Max Gladstone, Guardian Ad Litem, items from December 15, 1942 to April 26, 1944 inclusive........$2,372.65
Bill to Guardians of Henry F. Waitt by Arthur W. Blake-more, dated June 27, 1944, items from February 15,1944 to June 15, 1944inclusive.......$ 738.99.”
The acting judge, hereinafter referred to as the judge, entered a decree on the motion on October 30, 1944, as follows: "The within motion after hearing is hereby allowed, in the sum of three thousand $3,000 dollars for counsel fees.” The appeals taken therefrom were by Henry F. Waitt by George
The evidence is reported and discloses that at the beginning of the hearing Mr. Roewer stated that he was representing Henry (the spendthrift) and Viola (his wife) as guardian of the two minor children, not objecting to the reasonableness of the petitioner’s charges for services, but merely raising the question of “whether the guardian [ad litem] had a right to engage counsel.” At another point in the hearing Mr. Roewer disclaimed that he represented the ward, stating that he represented Viola, the wife of the ward, individually and as guardian of the two children.
When this case came before us for argument, the petitioner moved that the several appeals be dismissed and' we were advised, as in the three preceding cases, by counsel for Mrs., Waitt that she had discharged them and that she did not desire tó prosecute her appeals further. Accordingly she was called and defaulted. It follows that the appeals taken in her behalf individually and as guardian of her two minor children by the spendthrift must be dismissed. For reasons
The entry therefore must be
. Appeals dismissed.
Mr. Roewer, however, had entered his appearance for the ward, for Viola, and for Viola as guardian of Henry F. Waitt, Junior, and Royal N. Waitt, and as stated above appealed in the name of the ward as his attorney.