Steward v. Barry

Citations

• 102 Ohio St. (N.S.) 129

Syllabus

<p>Administrators and executors- — Accounts — Proceeds of sale of lease — Year’s allowance to widow — Reduction after payment — Burden of proof — Existence of additional assets — Challenge of credit taken by administrator.</p> <p>1. When an administrator by virtue of his office takes the unexpired term of his decedent’s lease for years and sells the same, the proceeds of such sale are by law appropriated to the original lessor to the extent of the unpaid rents of the original lease, and such administrator will be required to account to his decedent’s estate only for the excess beyond the sum required to pay the rents reserved in the original lease.</p> <p>2. The appraisers fixed the amount of the widow’s allowance at $2,000. The administrator in good faith paid such allowance to the widow. More than nine months thereafter, the creditors of the estate, upon learning that the estate was probably insolvent, filed an application to have the probate court reduce the amount of such allowance, and upon consideration the court reduced the same to $1,200. Held: The administrator could not be charged with the amount of such reduction until he had recovered the amount thereof from the widow.</p> <p>3. Where an attempt is made to charge the administrator with more assets than are charged by the appraisement and the account, the burden of proving the existence of such additional assets is upon the objector.</p> <p>4. When the correctness of a credit taken by an administrator in his account is challenged, the burden of establishing the validity of such credit is upon such administrator.</p>