Dow v. Hutchinson

334 P.2d 1063, 167 Cal. App. 2d 707, 1959 Cal. App. LEXIS 2392
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 9, 1959
DocketCiv. 18108
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 334 P.2d 1063 (Dow v. Hutchinson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dow v. Hutchinson, 334 P.2d 1063, 167 Cal. App. 2d 707, 1959 Cal. App. LEXIS 2392 (Cal. Ct. App. 1959).

Opinion

DRAPER, J.

This is one more appeal in the prolonged and bitter dispute between mother and daughter over distribution of the estate of the husband and father. Testator died in 1930. The intervening years have not cooled the acrimony of his survivors. The ease has often been before the appellate courts. (Estate of Dow, 91 Cal.App.2d 420 [205 P.2d 698] [hearing denied by Supreme Court] ; Estate of Dow, 120 Cal.App.2d 296 [260 P.2d 970]; Dow v. Superior Court, 140 Cal.App.2d 399 [297 P.2d 30] [hearing denied] ; Estate of Dow, 149 Cal.App.2d 47 [308 P.2d 475] [hearing denied] ; Estate of Dow, 149 Cal.App.2d 67 [308 P.2d 488]; Estate of Dow, 149 Cal.App.2d 69 [308 P.2d 489]; Hutchinson v. Superior Court, 149 Cal.App.2d 73 [308 P.2d 492]; Estate of Dow, 48 Cal.2d 649 [312 P.2d 1].) Thus it is not surprising that the present appeal turns largely upon the interpretation and application of previous decisions.

On February 2, 1955, the probate court entered its order settling third and fourth accounts of respondent as administratrix with the will annexed and its decree of distribution. The present appellant appealed from that order and decree, later restricting her appeal from the decree to those portions directing distribution to Mrs. Dow. April 13, 1955, the probate court ordered payment of an allowance of $500 per month to respondent “during the progress of the settlement of the Estate, and the Appeal now pending . . ., or until the further Order of this Court.” The present appellant appealed from that order. On September 7, 1955, the probate court ordered respondent administratrix to deliver to Mrs. Hutchinson, within 10 days, certain of the assets described in the decree of distribution. Respondent administratrix appealed from that order. The appellate court modified and affirmed the order settling accounts and the decree of distribution (149 Cal.App.2d 47, 66) and the order of September 7, 1955 (149 Cal.App.2d 69). Thereafter the order granting family allowance was affirmed (48 Cal.2d 649). By order filed July 17, 1957, the probate court settled supplemental accounts which covered the period after the 1955 decree, terminated the family allowance, granted ordinary and extraordinary compensation *710 to administratrix and her attorneys, directed retention in the estate of cash and 758% shares of River Farms Company, and directed distribution of the remaining assets in equal shares to the parties hereto. The daughter now appeals from portions of this latest order.

Appellant’s basic argument is that the decree of distribution filed February 2, 1955, determined the rights of the parties. Since she appealed only from the portions directing distribution to respondent, she contends that the decree became final as to appellant’s distributive share on respondent’s failure to appeal therefrom. Thus, she asserts, the court in 1957 had no jurisdiction to charge her distributive share with any part of the family allowance and other expenses of administration arising after February 2, 1955.

But this issue has been determined against appellant’s contention. The Supreme Court (48 Cal.2d 649, 653) held that under “ [t]he particular circumstances of this case” the family allowance after decree of distribution was a proper charge against the estate. Appellant suggests that this decision must be construed to award respondent a family allowance only from respondent’s own half of the estate. This view is clearly contrary to the holding implicit in the Supreme Court decision, as appellant recognized in petitioning for rehearing in that case. In that petition, she described as “incontestable” the fact that “50 cents of every dollar paid under this order is abstracted from appellant’s distribution.” Similarly, the estate as a whole is chargeable with proper expenses incurred while the appeals from the 1955 orders necessarily extended the period of administration. The Supreme Court specifically noted that when the daughter appealed from the decree of distribution the “estate was therefore no longer in a condition to be ‘immediately’ closed” (48 Cal.2d at p. 652) and that “the decree, while denominated a decree of final distribution, specifically provides . . . for further proceedings, including the payment of all obligations of the estate . . .” (P. 653). The District Court of Appeal recognized that the decree of distribution “did not fully take into account the fact that it might be followed by an appeal” (149 Cal.App.2d at p. 71), specifically contemplated “payment of all charges and claims not provided for in the decree of distribution” (p. 71) and modified the order to require withholding of additional assets to meet “the foreseeable contingencies during the final determination of all estate *711 matters” (pp. 71-72). The probate court was directed to “determine at once what assets of the estate, money or stock or both, are required to be withheld to meet all foreseeable contingencies” (pp. 72, 66). This language completely disposes of appellant’s claim that the probate court lacked jurisdiction to assess any charges against the estate after the 1955 decree. However, she attacks individual items upon other grounds.

Appellant argues that the allowance of ordinary and extraordinary compensation to administratrix and her attorneys is improper. As suggested above, the appeal of the present appellant from the 1955 decree compelled continuance of administration. We do not seek to apportion responsibility for the delay in administration over its whole period. It is implicit, however, in the appellate decisions of 1957 that the delay since February 2, 1955, has not been due to respondent’s whim or wrongdoing in any sense which should deprive her or her counsel of reasonable compensation. The occasion for and the amount of extraordinary compensation is a matter for the discretion of the trial court, to be interfered with on appeal only for abuse. {Estate of Scherer, 58 Cal.App.2d 133, 142 [136 P.2d 103].) Such compensation may be allowed an attorney for defending the administrator’s account. {Estate of Raphael, 128 Cal.App.2d 92, 97 [274 P.2d 880].) We have reviewed the allowances made to the administratrix and her attorneys, and find no reason to disturb them.

Appellant asserts that the probate court abused its discretion in directing administratrix to withhold assets worth approximately $50,000 to pay “charges due or to become due.” While this amount seems somewhat large, we must note that the principal item so withheld is corporate stock upon which substantial taxable capital gains will be realized when it is reduced to cash.

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221 Cal. App. 2d 792 (California Court of Appeal, 1963)
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221 Cal. App. 2d 792 (California Court of Appeal, 1963)
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197 Cal. App. 2d 560 (California Court of Appeal, 1961)
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Bluebook (online)
334 P.2d 1063, 167 Cal. App. 2d 707, 1959 Cal. App. LEXIS 2392, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dow-v-hutchinson-calctapp-1959.