30 Colo. 415 | Colo. | 1902
delivered the opinion of the court.
Sarah E. Waterhouse,'late of Weld county, departed this life on or about the 9th day of January, 1896, and left surviving her as her only heirs at law-Sarah Day, Clara Goodin, Mary Day, Emma Water-house, and Frank Waterhouse, her children. Clara Goodin, a daughter of Sarah Waterhouse, died on F'ebruary 6th, 1897, leaving surviving her four minor children and her husband as her sole heirs at law. H. E. Churchill, having been appointed guardian for said minor children, was. appointed administrator of the estate of Sarah E. Waterhouse upon the petition of William M. Goodin, the husband of said deceased, on the 16th of April, 1900." In November following, the administrator filed his petition in the county court of Weld county, duly verified, alleging that Frank Waterhouse, residing in said county, has now in his possession and under his control, and has concealed 'certain goods, chattels, moneys, credits, books of ac
The case comes here by writ of error.
The sole question for our determination is whether or not money belonging to a decedent can be disposed of in the manner shown by the testimony, without the appointment of an administrator. We are of opinion that it was not necessary, under the facts as shown to exist, that an administrator of the estate of Sarah Waterhouse should have been ap
It is stated by Woerner in his work on Administration, § 201, that “The rights of creditors to the assets, of a deceased person is the principal reason for requiring official administration, and courts, therefore, sanction the disposition of the property of a decedent without the appointment of an administrator where it is certain that no debts are owing. ’ ’
And in Horner’s Probate Law, § 157, that author says: “Administration "of intestate estates is not always necessary; and where it is possible to settle an estate without administration of course, it is desirable that it be don©., But there are few cases in which such a course is absolutely safe. However, it is competent for all the heirs of a deceased person, if they are of age, to settle and pay the debts of the deceased, and divide the property amongst
We are of opinion that the court erred in granting letters of administration in this instance and that the letters so granted are of no avail, that there were no assets of the deceased at the time of the appointment of the administrator to administer upon, and that the respondent should have been discharged.
Judgment reversed and remanded.
Reversed.