In re the Estate of Manning

111 N.W. 409, 134 Iowa 165
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedApril 11, 1907
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 111 N.W. 409 (In re the Estate of Manning) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re the Estate of Manning, 111 N.W. 409, 134 Iowa 165 (iowa 1907).

Opinion

Sherwin, J.

The appointment of H. B. Sloan trustee of the estate of Bates M. Manning was on the application of the mother of said Bates M. Manning, and the appointment gave him full power and authority to take possession of the real and personal property and to do all things necessary for the proper management of the estate and for the full performance of said trust. Prior to his appointment as trustee, Mrs. Maud M. Manning, the mother of Bates M. Manning, was appointed the guardian of Bates M. Manning, and,'before Mr. Sloan was appointed trustee of the minor’s estate, she entered into a contract with Mr. [167]*167Sloan, wherein it was agreed that Mr. Sloan was to receive as attorney in said estate “ in lieu of all services rendered or to be rendered in all matter pertaining to said estate the sum of $3,000.” After his appointment as trustee, another contract was made between Mrs. .Manning and Mr. Sloan, in which it was agreed that the law firm of which Mr. Sloan was at that time a member should receive, for services in the estate of the minor, Bates M. Manning, the sum of $2,000, “ in full of all services in any and all matters.” The first of these two contracts bore the following indorsement : “ The above and foregoing contract approved this 20th day of December 1901. T. M. Eee, Judge.” And the second contract was indorsed as follows: “ The within stipulation and agreement is hereby approved this January 24, 1903. M. A. Boberts, Judge.” On the 27th day of February, 1903, Judge Boberts in chambers approved a report presented by the trustee, in which the trustee credited himself for the full amount of the above contracts. In the same report the compensation of the trustee was fixed at $1,200' for the first year, and he was also therein authorized to borrow money to make payment of expenses, taxes, etc. This report was acted upon without notice to the guardian of the minor, and the report and the order approving it were not filed in the Van Burén district court until August 3, 1904, and immediately thereafter objections thereto were filed by Mrs. Manning, as the guardian of Bates M. Manning. A subsequent report was also filed by the trustee to which objections were made. In addition to his claim of $5,000 on the two contracts, the trustee also claimed in his reports the sum of $500 attorney’s fee for procuring the appointment of a temporary guardian of Edwin Manning, grandfather of the ward, and $1,200 per year as compensation for his services as trustee and some other items of expenses which it is not necessary to mention at this time. In their objections to these reports the guardian and minor alleged that the attorney’s fee contracts were [168]*168void, because the guardian had no authority to make them, and because the orders of the judges purporting to approve them were void and made without jurisdiction; that the order approving the first report and fixing the compensation of the trustee was subject to the same objections; and further, that the estate was not liable for' attorney’s fees for procuring the appointment of a guardian for Edwin Manning. The trial court refused to allow the amount claimed under the two attorney’s fee contracts, refused to allow anything for procuring the appointment of a guardian for Edwin Manning, and refused to allow the trustee anything for his services and expenses as trustee for the years from February, 1903, to February, 1905. The court did allow $1,200 compensation for his first year services as trustee, and $980 attorney’s fees actually paid to other attorneys, and $1,000 for his own services as an attorney.

On the appellant’s part, it is contended that the two attorney’s fee contracts should have been allowed; that the first contract was entered into between the guardian and Mr. Sloan, and approved by a judge of the court before Mr. Sloan’s appointment as trustee, and cannot be attacked collaterally .in a proceeding wherein Mr. Sloan is only accounting for his conduct as trustee; and that the same rule applies to the second contract, except that it is conceded that it was entered into after Mr. Sloan had been appointed trustee, and had entered' upon his duties as such. It is further contended that Mr. Sloan was entitled to have a jury trial, or a trial in equity wherein he could have appealed de novo, as to the reasonableness and validity of the two contracts in question. The further point is made that, Mr. Sloan being a trustee, the court of probate had no authority to call on him for an accounting. While Mr. Sloan was named trustee of the property of Mrs. Manning’s ward, he was appointed by the probate court of Van Burén county, and it must be borne in mind that he was claiming under these contracts in a report made to that court, that it is evi[169]*169dent from the entire proceeding that his appointment as trustee was made for the purpose of obviating the appointment of another guardian for the minor; and that it was the evident intention that he should perform the duties of a guardian. As we have heretofore shown, his appointment required him to report to the court making the appointment, and, when he made his reports, he credited himself for expenses and payments or for disbursement of the funds coming into his hands by virtue of such appointment.

1. Guardian and ward: contract of guardian to pay attorney’s fees. One of two things imist be true: Either the reasonableness and the justness of the claims made under these two contracts was triable in this probate proceeding, or they were not proper charges in his favor as trustee. They could only he included in ° ° frig reports as proper charges against the estate on the theory that he was acting as a guardian or performing the duties of a guardian, and liable as such for his conduct. We think the trial court correctly found the attorney’s fee contracts invalid. While section 3200 of the Code authorizes guardians of the property of minors to employ counsel for their wards under proper orders of the court, or judge thereof, such orders must b© entered on the record of the court to make them effective (Code, section 3784); and, where orders are made out of court, Code, section 3846, requires that they shall “forthwith be filed* and entered by the clerk in the journal of the court, in the same manner as orders made in the term.” While these requirements of the statute do not specifically relate to guardianship proceedings, nor to the powers of a probate court, they are to be applied thereto as effectively as to any other legal proceedings requiring such judgments or orders, and, if this be true, the approval indorsed on the contracts should have been made of record in the district court of Yan Burén county to make them valid. Gillespie v. See, 72 Iowa, 345; Bristol Savings Bank v. Judd, 116 Iowa, 26; [170]*170Callanan v. Votruba, 104 Iowa, 672; King v. Dickson, 114 Iowa, 160.

2. Same It follows, from what has already been said, that there had been no adjudication binding the guardian of the minor so far as these two contracts are concerned, and that their contest was timely, and they were entitled to contest the validity of the contracts in this proceeding. Code, section 3399; Latham v. Myers, 57 Iowa, 519; In re Estate of Sawyer, 124 Iowa, 485; Dorris v. Miller, 105 Iowa, 564; Valley National Bank v. Crosby, 108 Iowa, 651.

We are satisfied that the evidence fully justified the trial court in disallowing the trastee the attorney’s fee claim for services in procuring a temporary guardian for Edwin Manning.

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Bluebook (online)
111 N.W. 409, 134 Iowa 165, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-estate-of-manning-iowa-1907.