Moran's Estate

Citations

• 261 Pa. 269
• 104 A. 585
• 1918 Pa. LEXIS 728

Syllabus

<p>Decedents’ estates — Executors and administrators — Surcharge— Liquor business — 'Continuation of business — Losses—Advance payments — Rents.</p> <p>1. Where the personal representative of a decedent engaged in the sale of liquor continues the decedent’s liquor business after his death without obtaining a transfer of the license, the continued sale of liquor is a violation of the law by which no legal or equitable claim to reimbursement is acquired if loss results therefrom.</p> <p>2. Where a will gives no authority to continue the testator’s business, the executor or administrator may not, as a general rule, properly do so; when he does so, the gain, if any, belongs to the estate, while the loss falls upon him.</p> <p>3. Where the personal representative of a decedent engaged in the liquor business continued her decedent’s liquor business after his death without obtaining a transfer of the license for a period of almost nine months, and incurred a net loss of $1,060.79, a claim for credit in her account for the amount of such loss was properly-refused.</p> <p>4. In such ease, it was error to surcharge the accountant, in addition to the amount of such- loss, with certain expenses which she had incurred in the sale of eatables, amounting to $1,665.65, where it appeared that the estate was credited with the amount received-from the sale of such eatables.</p> <p>5. An admink+rator has no right to make advance payments to certain general creditors in full to the exclusion of others; and in so doing takes the risk of the solvency of the estate.</p> <p>6. Where in such case before the account was filed, the administratrix expended over $3,000 in paying in full certain creditors of the estate, while she had paid nothing to other creditors of equal rank, and-the fund was not sufficient to pay all creditors in full, the court.properly surcharged her with the amount of such payments without prejudice to her right to take the place of creditors so paid and pro rate with tho