In re Estate of Spanier

Citations

• 120 Cal. 698
• 53 P. 357
• 1898 Cal. LEXIS 838

Syllabus

<p>Estates oe Deceased Persons—Account—Payment op Part of Disputed Claim.—Where a disputed claim against the estate of a deceased person was allowed in part, and rejected in part, and the allowance was not accepted by the claimant, but an action was brought upon the whole claim, which was pending upon appeal, the court had no jurisdiction to order payment of the allowed portion of such disputed claim, in advance of the settlement of the administrator’s account, and without statutory notice of such order given in the manner provided for the settlement of accounts; and such order being invalid cannot be conclusive, nor bind the court upon settlement of the final account of the administrator, to allow credit therein for a payment made by the administrator pursuant to such order.</p> <p>Id.—Contest of Account of Predecessor.—It is the duty of an administrator to protect the estate against the unlawful claims of creditors, and it is the duty of the court to do so at the suggestion of any person, or upon its own motion; and a subsequent administrator may contest the allowance of an item in the final account of a previous administrator, and may join with a nonresident heir in contesting such item, and in supporting upon appeal the action of the court in rejecting it.</p>