Decker v. Fahrenholtz

Citations

• 68 A. 1048
• 107 Md. 515
• 1908 Md. LEXIS 32

Syllabus

<p>Appeal from. Orphans' Court — What Constitutes Admission of Will to Probate — When Executor Entitled to Counsel Fees for Resisting Caveat to Will.</p> <p>An order of the Orphans’ Court rescinding a previous order by which an allowance of counsel fees was made to an executor for opposing a caveat to a will is not a final order, and no appeal lies therefrom.</p> <p>The statute does not prescribe any particular form in which the judgment of the Orphans’ Court admitting a will to probate shall be expressed, and a formal judgment or decree is not necessary for that purpose.</p> <p>When upon a caveat, the verdict of the jury has been in favor of the caveatees, and the Orphans’ Court passes an order ratifying their finding and dismissing the caveat, such order is equivalent to the admission of the will to probate.</p> <p>■After a will has been admitted to probate, the executor named therein has the right and the duty to defend the same, although letters testamentary have not yet been granted, and he is entitled to an allowance of counsel fees for that purpose. But the executor named in the will is not entitled to an allowance of fees for resisting a caveat filed before the will has been admitted to probate.</p> <p>A verdict was rendered for the caveatees upon the trial of issues upon a caveat filed to a will before its probate, and on appeal, the rulings of the trial Court were affirmed. On February yth, 1905, the Orphans’ Court passed an order confirming the findings of the jury and dismissing the caveat. On February 16th, 1905, the caveators asked for additional issues relating to the will. It was held that these were substantially embraced in the former issues and the petition for the caveat was dismissed, and this ruling was affirmed upon appeal in January, 1906. On February 20th, 1906, the Orphans’ Court passed a formal order admitting the will to probate and letters testamentary were then granted. Held, that the order of February, 1905, dismissing the caveat, shou