Bawden v. Furlong

147 N.E.2d 889, 16 Ill. App. 2d 174
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMarch 6, 1958
DocketGen. 11,057
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 147 N.E.2d 889 (Bawden v. Furlong) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bawden v. Furlong, 147 N.E.2d 889, 16 Ill. App. 2d 174 (Ill. Ct. App. 1958).

Opinion

PRESIDING JUSTICE CROW

delivered the opinion of the court.

On February 7, 1954 James E. Furlong died testate. His heirs were his nephews, Faber Furlong and Earl Furlong, his niece, Vivian Furlong Leglar, and a grandnephew and grandniece, Francis H. Furlong and Mary Theresa Furlong Roberts, the children of John Furlong, a nephew who had predeceased the testator.

The Will of James E. Furlong, deceased, was admitted to probate in the County Court of Jo Daviess county and the testator’s nominee, Edna A. Bawden, his bookkeeper and principal business assistant for many years, qualified and was appointed executrix on February 16,1954.

The estate included commercial and residential real property, several farm properties and an undertaking and furniture business which he had conducted for many years. By his will, Edna A. Bawden was left the commercial real estate housing the combined furniture store and funeral home, part of the residential real estate, certain personal property, a sum of money for masses, and the undertaking business. The decedent left to his niece, Vivian Furlong Leglar, the balance of the residential property, certain personalty, a cash legacy, and some of the farm lands. He devised to his nephews, Faber and Earl Furlong the rest of the farm lands. The Will bequeathed to John Furlong, the nephew who predeceased the testator, a cash legacy. The residuary estate, the principal asset thereof being the stock of furniture, was given to the niece, Vivian Furlong Leglar, and to the nephews, Faber, Earl and John Furlong to be divided among them in equal proportions, share and share alike (John Furlong being the nephew who predeceased the testator).

The instant case arises from an appeal to the Circuit Court by Edna A. Bawden, Executrix, from an order of the County Court, sitting in Probate, which sustained certain objections by the residuary legatees to the final account of the executrix, surcharged her for certain items of disbursement totalling $7,343.85, and otherwise approved the final account as amended. Of the surcharges of $7,343.85 made against the executrix, $6,436.77 related to disbursements made as a result of the furniture stock ($5,226.77 being for wages to the executrix and others as employees of the furniture store, $1,100 and $110, respectively, being surcharges for rents paid Edna A. Bawden), the sum of $805 was an attorney’s fee in connection with a petition to remove the executrix and in connection with settlement of her and another attorney’s fees, and the balance of $102.08 were eight miscellaneous items of disbursements to parties for whom no claims were filed or proved up. An appeal was also taken by the residuary legatees who contended the final account should have been surcharged for a larger amount. The two appeals were consolidated in the Circuit Court and heard together. From a judgment of the Circuit Court surcharging the final account in the identical amounts as did the County Court, and otherwise approving it, the executrix has appealed as to the parts thereof which order her to reimburse the estate $7,343.85 and to pay the costs, and the residuary legatees have cross-appealed as to the parts thereof overruling their objections to a claimed loss of $11,424.17 sustained by reason of the claimed illegal operation of the' decedent’s furniture business by the executrix, overruling their objections to a claimed loss of $13,704.25 sustained by the executrix’ alleged failure to accept an offer of one Don Klavohn for the furniture merchandise, and overruling their objections to executrix’ fees, attorney fees and expenses, and $2,500 paid Edna A. Bawden for masses.

Concurrently with the entry of the order surcharging the executrix, the court below entered another order overruling her motion to dismiss two of the five objectors to the final account. These two were Francis H. Furlong and Mary Theresa Furlong Roberts, the children of John Furlong, the nephew who had predeceased the testator. The executrix appellant’s notice of appeal purports to appeal from that order also.

On appeal the executrix contends that: the Circuit Gourt erred in denying her motion to dismiss Francis H. Furlong and Mary Theresa Furlong Roberts; she was, first, erroneously surcharged for disbursements made pursuant to an agreement with the residuary legatees as to the method to be used to liquidate the stock of furniture; secondly, she was further erroneously surcharged for disbursements which were either debts of the decedent or ordinary and proper expenses of administration; and lastly, none of the surcharges were supported by the facts as established at the trial de novo in the Circuit Court.

It is the appellee’s and cross-appellants’ position that the trial court applied the law correctly at the time in overruling appellant’s motion to dismiss Francis H. Furlong and Mary Theresa Furlong Roberts from the case, but that a subsequent Supreme Court case overruled the authority upon which the trial court had acted. They insist the Circuit Court ruled correctly as to the surcharge of $7,343.85. Their cross appeal is based upon several additional allegations. In addition to the amount surcharged the executrix, the appellees and cross-appellants in their brief claim additional improper disbursements and losses due to tbe conduct of the executrix, totalling $106,181.69.

There is no contention tbe executrix has failed to list in tbe account all receipts actually received, or that sbe did not actually make all tbe disbursements listed. Tbe questions arise over tbe propriety of certain disbursements and over certain alleged losses the objectors assert were du.e to tbe executrix.

Tbe record clearly shows that shortly after tbe executrix commenced her administration of tbe estate a substantial difference of opinion arose as to tbe conduct of tbe affairs. Petitions, citations, and bearings followed petitions, citations, and bearings, culminating eventually in a petition to remove tbe executrix. Thereafter tbe executrix tendered her resignation. An administrator de bonis non with tbe will annexed was appointed, and tbe executrix was directed to file an itemized accounting of her receipts and expenditures from tbe date of her appointment to June 24, 1955.

On July 1, 1955 tbe executrix filed her final report. Objections thereto were made by Faber Furlong, Earl Furlong, Vivian Furlong Leglar, Francis H. Furlong and Mary Theresa Furlong Eoberts as residuary legatees and devisees. Later, on December 16, 1955, tbe executrix filed an amendment to her final report, wherein sbe took credit for certain other items of expenditure. On February 21, 1956 tbe cause came on for bearing before tbe County Court on tbe final account, as amended, which court approved tbe final account and amendments thereto with tbe exception of tbe items totalling $7,343.85 which amount tbe executrix was ordered to reimburse tbe estate.

On appeal, tbe case was beard de novo by tbe Circuit Court. In that court the executrix filed a motion to dismiss Francis H. Furlong and bis sister, Mary Theresa Furlong Eoberts, children of John Furlong, the nephew who predeceased the decedent. It was the sense of the motion to dismiss that under the circumstances those two objectors had no interest in the estate so as to be aggrieved persons qualified to appeal under Section 330 of the Probate Act (1955 Ill. Rev. Stats., Chap. 3, Par. 484).

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Bluebook (online)
147 N.E.2d 889, 16 Ill. App. 2d 174, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bawden-v-furlong-illappct-1958.