Estate of Palm

156 P.2d 62, 68 Cal. App. 2d 204, 1945 Cal. App. LEXIS 757
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 26, 1945
DocketCiv. 7090
StatusPublished
Cited by40 cases

This text of 156 P.2d 62 (Estate of Palm) 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
Estate of Palm, 156 P.2d 62, 68 Cal. App. 2d 204, 1945 Cal. App. LEXIS 757 (Cal. Ct. App. 1945).

Opinion

THE COURT.

Frank Weber, as administrator with the will annexed of the estate of Edward A. Palm, deceased, has appealed from an order revoking his letters on the grounds of mismanagement and possession of interests adverse to the estate. He has also appealed from that portion of an order settling his first and second accounts which relates to the disallowance of interest on two notes secured by trust deeds on certain property belonging to the estate.

Edward A. Palm and Wilhelmina Palm were husband and wife. Respondents are their son and daughter respectively. The spouses were possessed of an estate of considerable value, including an undivided one-half interest in a Yolo County ranch and the entire community interest in another ranch in Sacramento County. On October 1, 1930, the spouses and Mary K. Holland executed a promissory note payable to Frank Weber, for the sum of $10,000, secured by a trust deed on the Yolo County farm. Mary K. Holland owned an undivided one-half interest in the last mentioned ranch. She subsequently deeded her interest in that ranch to Mr. Weber in full payment of her share of indebtedness on that note. February 3, 1933, the spouses executed a promissory note payable to Frank Weber for the sum of $31,152.30 secured by another trust deed on the Sacramento ranch. December 7, 1934, Edward A. Palm died testate. His wife, Wilhelmina, who was the sole beneficiary under his will, was duly appointed and qualified as executrix. May 25, 1935, Weber’s claim against the estate for said indebtedness was approved and filed in the total sum of $44,084.95. November 20, 1935, Wilhelmina Palm resigned as executrix, and upon her nomination Frank Weber was appointed and qualified on December 9, 1935, as administrator of said estate with the will annexed. An inventory was filed in the estate appraising the Sacramento ranch at $30,000. There is evidence that values of real prop *207 erty have recently increased and that said ranch is now worth in excess of $35,000.

The evidence shows and the trial court found that at the time Weber took over the operation of the property and assumed his duties as administrator, the property was not in a condition to produce to advantage; that the Yolo County land was planted to pear trees that were diseased .and had to be removed, and that the Sacramento County property was planted to prune trees that were unprofitable; that Weber removed the trees from the lands and planted the Yolo ranch to grain, and the Sacramento property in hops, the latter crop proving highly successful and profitable. Thereafter Mr. Weber operated the hop ranch and rebuilt a hop dryer which was destroyed by fire, advancing his own moneys for the benefit of the estate. He also cared for the other property of the estate. He paid bills of the estate, including a portion of his own claim. He maintained a bank account in his name as administrator, from which expenses and costs of administration of the estate were paid by checks. June 22, 1937, Wilhelmina Palm signed a document by the terms of which she “consents to and confirms all the acts and management of Frank Weber, as administrator ...” and also “waives the reporting of any of said acts to the court or obtaining the confirmation of said acts by the court.” May 31,1940, Mrs. Palm signed a similar document ratifying all acts of Mr. Weber, performed as administrator, including the borrowing and expenditure of money, the making of improvements and the handling of the estate. No account was filed in the estate by Mr. Weber during the lifetime of Mrs. Palm. She died March 11, 1941.

December 2, 1941, after the death of their mother, E. E. Palm and Florence E. Farris, a son and daughter of the deceased, gave notice to Mr. Weber to show cause why he should not file an account of his administration of the estate. That motion was not heard or determined. In June, 1942, the administrator filed his first account. January 5, 1943, E. E. Palm and Florence E. Farris, the previously mentioned heirs, filed objections to that account. February 10, 1943, the administrator filed a “Second Annual Account and Report of Frank Weber, Administrator.” May 25th of that year the same heirs filed objections to that account. After hearing *208 upon said accounts, both the first and the second accounts were settled by the court December 16, 1943.

It appears from the findings adopted by the court on the motion to revoke the letters that on December 2, 1942, the administrator published notice of probate sale of said hop ranch, and sold the same to Sophie Oeste for $28,000 subject to approval; that the reasonable value of said ranch was not less than $35,000; that upon return of said sale to the probate court said heirs filed their objections to confirmation, and said sale was abandoned. Regarding said sale the court further found that Frank Weber persuaded Sophie Oeste to bid $28,000 for said hop ranch promising to protect her against higher bids therefor, agreeing that if higher bids were offered he would bid in the property for any necessary amount with which to purchase it “up to the sum of $35,000,” and convey it to her for said sum of $28,000.

The administrator testified that he handled said hop ranch as the property of the estate of Edward A. Palm, deceased, until “sometime in June of 1943,” after which he claimed the right to, and managed it as mortgagee and trustee in possession of the property. On March 5, 1943, Mr. Weber procured notice to be given of sale of said hop ranch under his trust deed, as required by section 692 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

September 20, 1943, the petition to revoke the letters of administration with the will annexed was filed, upon the grounds of alleged mismanagement, and possession and exercise, by the administrator of an interest "in property adverse to the estate. After complete hearing on said petition the court adopted findings adverse to the administrator on the essential issues involved and thereupon revoked his letters upon the grounds previously mentioned.

The findings on the motion to revoke the letters consist of twenty-four pages of recitations of facts and figures determining numerous amounts loaned to the estate by the administrator in the course of administration by him, the sums expended by him in full payment of all claims other than his own claim, the various amounts credited by him to the payment of principal and interest on his own claim, and the sums paid by him for improvements and costs of operating the ranches and property of the estate during his administration covering a period of about seven years, without any order *209 of court or subsequent approval by the court. The court does not specifically find that any designated payments were wrongfully or fraudulently made, except that it does find that Mr. Weber waived the interest prior to December 21, 1942, on his allowed claim secured by his trust deeds, the inference being that he therefore wrongfully paid himself such items of interest. But the court did specifically find that the administrator’s said claim secured by trust deeds constituted claim adverse to the interest of the estate and to the heirs of the deceased, and that he asserted and testified on September 25, 1943, that he held the hop ranch as a beneficiary and mortgagee in possession of the ranch, and not as administrator.

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Bluebook (online)
156 P.2d 62, 68 Cal. App. 2d 204, 1945 Cal. App. LEXIS 757, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/estate-of-palm-calctapp-1945.