In re Estate of Chambers

36 N.E.2d 175, 30 Ohio Law. Abs. 420, 1939 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 957
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 30, 1939
DocketNo. 1543
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 36 N.E.2d 175 (In re Estate of Chambers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Estate of Chambers, 36 N.E.2d 175, 30 Ohio Law. Abs. 420, 1939 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 957 (Ohio Ct. App. 1939).

Opinions

OPINION

By BARNES, J.

The above entitled cause is now being determined as an error proceeding by reason of two appeals on questions of law from the judgment of the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County, Ohio.

The controversy originated in the Probate Court of Montgomery County, Ohio, where the beneficiaries filed exceptions to the 10th account filed by the administrator of Daniel I. Harshman, the latter having been administrator d.b.n., w.w.a. of the Chambers Estate from February 24, 1910, until his death on May 11, 1937. The beneficiaries’ exceptions also ask that the .8th and 9th accounts be opened up so as to include errors and mistakes therein.

The 8th account was filed May 29, 1928, and covered the period of January 1, 1925, to December 31, 1927, a period of three years. This account was settled July 1, 1928.

The 9th account was filed April 9, 1931, covering the period from January 1, 1928, to December 31, 1930, a period of three years, and was settled by the Probate Court on June 1, 1931.

No further reports were made to the court by Daniel I. Harshman until his death in May, 1937.

Joining with the beneficiaries as ex-ceptors, was the Winters National Bank and Trust Company, administrator, d.b.n., w.w.a., of the Chambers estate, having been so appointed on May 14, 1937.

At the time of Daniel I. Harshman’s appointment as successor fiduciary, he duly provided a surety company’s bond. On March 19, 1918, the Massachusetts Bonding and Insurance Company was substituted as surety on the official bond of the said Daniel I. Harshman, and continued to so act until the death of said administrator. This Bonding Company also filed exceptions to the 10th account on the stated ground that [423]*423the administrator of the Daniel I. Harshman estate had failed to enter in his account or make claim for administrator’s compensation for the period following the account period designated in the 9th account up to the date of the death of Daniel I. Harshman.

The Robert Chambers estate had been active in the Probate Court for a great many years.

Robert Chambers died in May, 1876, leaving a last will and testament which was admitted to probate in the Montgomery County court, and which provided in Item 13 that the executors would convert all the residuary estate into cash, invest the same, distribute the income thereof equally among testator’s children, and upon the death of said children pay over the corpus of said estate to the issue of said children.

All of the testator’s children died without issue except two daughters, Margaret J. Schieble and Mary C. Calef, both of whom are now living and have living issue.

The two surviving daughters are each the owners of an undivided one-half interest for life in the income of the corpus of said estate, and their respective children are the prospective owners of the corpus, subject to the income rights of the two daughters. The estate has been kept open for the sole purpose of administering this Item 13, and several successor administrators d.b.n. have succeeded the original appointees, made in 1876.

In May, 1936, Daniel I. Harshman admitted to Mr. Harry L. Munger, of the law firm of Munger and Kennedy, attorneys for said administrator d.b.n. that there were discrepancies in the affairs of said estate.

On August 31, 1936, in order to prepare an accurate account of the affairs and on application by Mr. Harry L. Munger, an audit was ordered to be made of the accounts and records of the said Daniel I. Harshman. A report of the audit, dated December 14, 1936, addressed to the Probate Court, showed a very substantial shortage in the assets of the estate, which according to the report, resulted from unauthorized withdrawals of cash and securities made by Harshman.

On April 20, 1937, counsel for the beneficiaries served Harshman by registered mail with a request that he resign as administrator. Harshman, having failed to resign, an application for his removal as such administrator was filed in the Probate Court by Margaret J. Schieble and Mary C. Calef, on April 23, 1937. A hearing was held on May 11, 1937, and at the close thereof the court orally directed that Harshman be removed, but before the order was journalized, Harshman died by his own hand.

Three days later, on May 14, 1937, the Winters National Bank and Trust Company of Dayton, Ohio, was appointed successor administrator d.b.n., w.w.a., of the estate of Robert Chambers, deceased, and said bank immediately qualified as such fiduciary.

On June 3, 1937, the Winters Bank, as such successor administrator of the Chambers estate, in its capacity as a creditor of the estate of Daniel I. Harsh-man, deceased, made application to the Probate Court for the appointment of Philip R. Becker as administrator of the estate of Daniel I. Harshman, deceased. Mr. Becker was duly appointed, the widow and next of kin of Darnel I. Harshman having waived the right to administer on the estate, said waivers being filed in the Probate Court. Becker in his capacity as administrator of the Harshman estate and pursuant to the terms of §10506-54, GC, filed in the1 Probate Court on July 7, 1937, the 10th. and final report and account of Harsh-man’s administration of the estate of Robert Chambers, deceased, which report covered the perod from January 1, 1931, to the date of Harshman’s death, which was May 11, 1937. This report showed a very substantial shortage in the assets of the Chambers estate.

On July 19, 1937, the living tenants, remainder men and the successor administrator filed the exceptions upon which the present litigation is founded.

The date of hearing the exceptions was set for September 7, 1937, and the Massachusetts Bonding and Insurance [424]*424Company, surety upon the official bond of Harshman, as administrator d.b.n., was given notice of the filing of such exceptions and the date of the hearing, by registered mail. By consent of all interested parties, the date of the hearing was postponed to September 21, 1937.

On September 16, 1937, the beneficiaries and successor administrator d. b.n., filed supplemental exceptions to the 10th and final account, asking for relief with respect to a certain mortgage investment, on which the successor fiduciary had the day before learned a loss would be sustained by the estate.

On September 18, 1937, the Surety Company filed a demurrer to the exceptions, based on a variety of grounds, and after several amendments to the exceptions made by leave of court, said demurrer was overruled in all its parts by an entry filed September 21, 1937.

On the same day the Surety Company filed both an answer to the exceptions previously filed and exceptions in its own right which were directed to the 10th and final report of Philip R. Becker, administrator of the estate of Daniel I. Harshman, deceased. The exceptions were heard before the Probate Court, and the court’s decision thereon was journalized on February 23, 1938.

The exceptions filed by the beneficiaries and the successor administrator d.b.n., were sustained in part and overruled in part.

The exceptions filed by the Surety Company were overruled in their entirety.

On March 14, 1938, the Massachusetts Bonding and Insurance Company filed in the Probate Court notice of appeal to the Common Pleas Court.

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Related

In Re Estate of Burchett
241 N.E.2d 787 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1968)
Berner v. Equitable Office Bldg. Corporation
175 F.2d 218 (Second Circuit, 1949)
Schieble v. Phalen
32 Ohio Law. Abs. 252 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1940)

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Bluebook (online)
36 N.E.2d 175, 30 Ohio Law. Abs. 420, 1939 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 957, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-estate-of-chambers-ohioctapp-1939.