Smith v. Westerfield

Citations

• 88 Cal. 374
• 26 P. 206
• 1891 Cal. LEXIS 699

Syllabus

<p>Estates of Deceased Persons — Statutory Proceedings — Limited Jurisdiction of Superior Court. —Proceedings for the administration and distribution of the estates of deceased persons are purely statutory, and though the superior court is a court of general jurisdiction, yet while sitting as a court of probate its jurisdiction is limited and special, and all acts in excess of the statutory power conferred are nugatory, and do not bind those wh o have invoked its authority or submitted to its decision.</p> <p>Id, — Determination of Heirship — “Special Proceeding.”—The determination of the heirship of claimants to an estate, under section 1664 of the Code of Civil Procedure, is a “special proceeding,” within the meaning of that term as defined in the Code of Civil Procedure, and the court, in the exercise of its jurisdiction, is limited to the terms and conditions of the statute under which the proceedings are authorized.</p> <p>Id.—Time for Proceeding — Jurisdiction. — The court has no jurisdiction to determine the heirship of a deceased person, under section 1664 of the Code of Civil Procedure, until after the expiration of one year from the issuing of letters of administration upon the estate, and has no power to determine it under other provisions of the code until upon or after the settlement of the final accounts of the administrator.</p> <p>Id. — Appeal — Jurisdiction — Dismissal. — The supreme court has appellate jurisdiction to revise, modify, or reverse judgments of the superior court rendered without jurisdiction; and an appeal from a judgment, in a special proceeding to determine heirship, will not be dismissed upon the ground that the superior court had no jurisdiction to entertain the proceeding, after that court has rendered an affirmative judgment therein.</p> <p>Id. — Time for Appeal — Dismissal. — An appeal from a judgment rendered under section 1664 of the Code of Civil Procedure must be taken within sixty days from the date of the entry of the jud