Chappell's Estate

Citations

• 264 Pa. 486
• 107 A. 846
• 1919 Pa. LEXIS 682

Syllabus

<p>Decedents’ estates — Widow’s exemption and allowance — Bill of review — Mistake—Laches—Orphans’ court — Powers—Act of Oct. ■ is, mo.</p> <p>1. A bill of review will be allowed by the orphans’ court to permit a widow to claim her exemption of $300, and her allowance of $5,000 under the Act of 1909, where it appears that the executor upon whom the widow relied, was absent from the audit on military service, that the widow was not represented by counsel, that her claim was not considered by the auditing judge, that the shares of stock which had been ordered to be distributed had been voluntarily surrendered without change to an officer of the court; that the rights of third parties had not intervened; that the widow moved within a month for a review; and had promptly notified the company issuing the stock not to transfer it.</p> <p>2. The orphans’ court has power not only under the Act of Oct. 13, 1840, P. L. 1, but under its inherent power, to correct an erroneous decree. Under such power it may even protect parties from their own mistakes and blunders, where no rights have changed in consequence of the decree.</p>