Cross's Estate

Citations

• 278 Pa. 170
• 122 A. 267
• 1923 Pa. LEXIS 495

Syllabus

<p>Wills — Prolate — Issue devisavit vel non — Grant of issue — Bequest of parties — Trial in common pleas — Final decree — Interlocutory decree — Appeals—Time for talcing appeals — Statutes—Codification of statutes — Acts of March 15,1832, P. L. 133,11$; March 29, 1832, P. L. 190, 208; May 19, 187It, P. L. 206; May 9, 1889, P. L. 158, 159; May 19, 1897, P. L. 67, 68, and June 7, 1917, P. L. ki5, m-</p> <p>1. The rule that when reading codifying legislation, the law as therein written will be deemed to be the same as prior to the revision, unless the statute itself, or its history, shows clear intention to make changes, does not control where, in a so-called codification such as the Wills Act of June 7, 1917, P. L. 415, 424, provisions from several prior statutes, enacted under a somewhat different scheme of tribunals and appeals, are brought together in one section of the revised act for the purpose of application to an altered system, and where the section in question is in pari materia, with other allied, and to a degree interdependent, legislation containing substantial changes from the preexisting law.</p> <p>2. From a consideration of the relevant authorities, the early legislation, and existing acts relating to the trial and disposal of issues of fact in probate of will cases, and appeals therefrom, the Supreme Court has formulated the following rules:</p> <p>Rule 1. The orphans’ court has power of its own volition to send any issue of fact to the common pleas.</p> <p>Rule 2. Where a substantial dispute exists on a material point of fact concerning the status of an alleged will or testamentary writing, and the evidence is of the probative value required by the •decisions, the orphans’ court must send such issue to the common pleas when requested so to do by any party in interest, if that request is made in due season.</p> <p>Rule 3. After judgment entered on the verdict in the common pleas, so long as the judgment stands undisturbed, the findings of fact by t