Bostwick v. Skinner

Citations

• 80 Ill. 147

Syllabus

<p>1. County courts—not courts of inferior or special jurisdiction. County courts, although of limited, are not, strictly speaking, of inferior, and certainly are not courts of special jurisdiction, and when adjudicating upon the class of questions over which they have general jurisdiction, as liberal intendments will be granted in their favor as would be extended to the proceedings of the circuit courts.</p> <p>2. Same—presumption in favor of their finding, on petition by administrator to sell real estate. Where a petition is filed in the county court by one claiming to be an administrator, for leave to sell real estate to pay debts of the deceased, one of the questions presented for the adjudication of the court is, whether the petitioner is administrator, and if the court decrees in accordance with the prayer of the petition, the presumption is that the proof was sufficient.</p> <p>3. Same—when and how jurisdiction of sale of land of deceased parties to pay debts acquired. County courts acquire jurisdiction in a proceeding by an administrator to sell lands to pay debts, from the death of the party seized of the real estate, the grant of letters of administration, and his indebtedness, and filing a petition showing these facts; and the recitals of the record can not, in a collateral proceeding, be contradicted by parol or other evidence outside of the record.</p> <p>4. County courts having jurisdiction over estates in general, the question as to whether a particular county court has jurisdiction of a particular estate is a question of fact to be determined by that court, and when once determined, the judgment is conclusive, and can not be questioned in a collateral proceeding.</p> <p>5. Administrator’s sale of real estate—prerequisites to filing petition to sell land. Where an order for the sale of real estate by an administrator recites that he has applied the proceeds of all the personal property which came into his possession to the payment of debts of the dece