Greenawalt's Estate

Citations

• 16 Pa. Super. 263
• 1901 Pa. Super. LEXIS 57

Syllabus

<p>Decedent's estates — Widow's exemption — Charge on land.</p> <p>The statutory allowance to a widow commonly spoken of as widow’s exemption, elected by her to be taken in real estate, becomes, after the confirmation of the report of the appraisers that the land cannot be divided without injury, a charge upon it, and the orphans’ court has power to enforce payment of the charge by a decree that it be made out of the lands by sale.</p> <p>Widow's exemption — Non residence of widow — Jurisdiction.</p> <p>If it appears on the face of proceedings awarding a widow’s exemption that the decedent neither died within this commonwealth nor liad a domicil therein, the decree confirming the appraisement is void for want of jurisdiction, and this objection may be raised on the hearing of the application for the order of sale of the land charged with the exemption; but where the decree of confirmation is made by the orphans’ court of the county in which the letters of administration were issued, want pf juris? diction is not to be presumed from the mere omission to set forth in the claim or in the appraisement that the decedent died, or was domiciled af the time of his death within the commonwealth.</p> <p>Widow's exemption — Appraisement—Charge on land — Order of sals — USS judicata.</p> <p>If it appears upon the hearing of a petition for an order of sale to enforce a decree charging a widow’s exemption on land that the prior proceedings are regular on their face, an heir may not attack the decree and demand a reinvestigation of the domicil of the decedent at the time of his death. Such a decree is res judicata. The remedy of the heir was to except to the allowance and confirmation of the appraisement.</p>