Estate of Fitler

Citations

• 6 Pa. Super. 364
• 1898 Pa. Super. LEXIS 164

Syllabus

<p>Decedent's estate — In absence of creditors heirs may distribute among themselves.</p> <p>The mere legal estate passes to the administrator of a decedent, the equitable descends upon the parties entitled to distribution. If there be no creditors, the heirs have a complete equity in the property, and if they choose, instead of taking out letters, may distribute it by arrangement made and executed amongst themselves.</p> <p>Decedent's estate — Distribution by family settlement — Presumption as to nonexistence of creditors.</p> <p>George, a son, the decedent, owed his father, Samuel, $2,000, represented by four bonds of $500. The son’s widow as administratrix of her husband paid his four brothers $100 each on account of above debt in anticipation of distribution, and received two bonds, one in consideration of the payment, and one for services rendered by her individually to Samuel’s wife. No letters were taken out on the estate of the father, until sixteen years after his death and long after the above family settlement, when one of the sons administered. The account of George’s- estate showed a balance of $478.51. The father’s administrator recovered judgment against the administratrix of his brother George for the $1,000, and sought to recover the full amount of the balance shown by her as administratrix of George. Held, that the decree against the administratrix was properly limited to the amount shown to have been in her hands, as such, less the $400 paid in distribution under the family settlement to the sons surviving the father, or in fact to $78.51, and that the lapse of sixteen years, with other circumstances, raised a presumption of the nonexistence of creditors of the father Samuel, which sustained the family settlement by way of informal distribution.</p>