Hayes's Estate

Citations

• 17 Pa. Super. 412
• 1901 Pa. Super. LEXIS 328

Syllabus

<p>Decedent's estates — Claim, for domestic services — Presumption of regular payment.</p> <p>Wages for domestic service are presumed to be paid at the period customary at the time and in the neighborhood, and claims for such wages for an unusual length of time, especially those not made until after the claimant has left the service, must be supported by affirmative proof that they had not been paid. The presumption shifts the burden of proof.</p> <p>The presumption of payment for domestic services applies not only to domestics living in the house of the employer, but also to persons rendering domestic services, but not living in the employer’s house.</p> <p>The presumption that a decedent regularly paid a woman who did his washing and ironing and rendered him other domestic services, but who did not live in the same house with him, is not rebutted by the claimant’s declarations to third persons that she made frequent demands for money, and that the decedent refused to pay her the amount she asked for, and by the account book of the decedent, which was not a full record either of his receipts or disbursements, but which contained occasional charges against the claimant.</p>