Kahn v. Israelson

62 Tex. 221, 1884 Tex. LEXIS 214
CourtTexas Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 17, 1884
DocketCase No. 1732
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 62 Tex. 221 (Kahn v. Israelson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Texas Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kahn v. Israelson, 62 Tex. 221, 1884 Tex. LEXIS 214 (Tex. 1884).

Opinion

Stayton, Associate Justice.

On the 11th of March, A. D. 1884, Mrs. Bertha Israelson, joined by her husband, M. Israelson, filed her application in the county court of Harrison county, Texas, praying to be appointed guardian of the persons and estates of the two minors, Madaline Kahn and Minnie Kahn. The petition set forth the fact that she resided in Harrison county, and the ages and sex of the minors; that petitioner, Mrs. Israelson, was the mother of the minors by a former husband, A. Kahn, who was alleged to have died in July, 1881, and that both minors were then in the county, and were the owners of an estate of the probable value of $5,000. That in September, 1881, L. Kahn, who was a paternal uncle of said minors, was, by the county court of Harrison county, Texas, appointed guardian of their persons and estates, and as such was still acting, and was a resident of Harrison county, and was not the testamentary guardian of the minors, and that petitioner has never waived her right to be guardian of either their persons or estate, and that she ivas natural guardian and in no ways disqualified,, and prayed for citation according to law for removal of L. Kahn, who was alleged to be indebted to the minors in two notes, payable to them when they should marry or become of age, [223]*223and stating amount, and that same were not paid, and were executed July, 1881.

April 11, 1884, L. Kahn answered by general demurrer and general denial, and specially that Mrs. Israelson requested him to apply; that he was appointed by the proper court guardian of the estates of said minors; he pleaded a waiver of Mrs. Israelson to the guardianship of the minors’ estates. April 11, 1884, a trial was had in the county court, resulting in the court overruling L. Kahn’s exception to the application of Mrs. Israelson, and sustaining a general demurrer to his answer, and removing L. Kahn from the guardianship, and appointing Mrs. Israelson guardian of their persons and estates, to which L. Kahn excepted and gave notice of an appeal to the district court.

Notice of appeal was entered on the minutes of the county court, and on the 30th April, 1884, the appellant executed an appeal bond. The district court convened on the 28th April, 1884.

May 2, 1884, the transcript was filed in the district court, and on May 7th the case was called for trial over L. Kahn’s protest, and the court then sustained a demurrer to Kahn’s answer, with leave to file a trial amendment; the trial amendment was filed, alleging that he was not the guardian of the persons of the minors, and that Mrs. Israelson (who was Mrs. Kahn at the time) waived her right to the guardianship of the estates of the minors in writing, and in writing requested Kahn to apply for and be appointed guardian of the estates of the minors, and that at the instance of said Bertha he applied for and was appointed. That the judgment of the county court of Harrison county, Texas, recites the fact that Bertha waived her right to said guardianship of their estates, and accordingly Kahn was appointed guardian of their estates, and denied that he was indebted to them or either one of them, and that if he was, the same was not due until they marry or become of age, and same existed long before his appointment: and again the court sustained a general demurrer to his answer, and then removed Kahn from the guardianship of the minors’ estates, and appointed Mrs. Israelson guardian of their persons and estates, and required bond, and ordered said Kahn to turn the estate of the minors over upon the filing of bond, and ordered the judgment certified to county court. Kahn excepted to the order removing him from the guardianship of the estates of the minors and appointing Mrs. Israelson in his stead.

When the cause was called for trial appellant protested against the trial of the cause at that term, on the ground that, as the tran[224]*224script was not filed in the district court before the first day of the term, it could not be tried until the succeeding term, and the action of the court in forcing the trial of the cause at that term is assigned as error.

The statute does not provide when causes appealed from the county courts shall be tried, but evidently contemplates that the transcript, if there be time to make it out, shall be filed in the district court at the first term after the judgment appealed from may be rendered, and that if this cannot be done, that it shall, at all events, be filed within sixty days after the appeal is taken. R. S., 2700, 2711.

The real inquiry is, when did the jurisdiction of the district court attach to the cause? The appeal was perfected when notice of appeal was given in the county court and properly entered on the record. That was done on April 11, 1884. The bond executed April 30th was not essential to the appeal (R. S., 2707), and subserved no jurisdictional purpose. The sole purpose which it could serve would be to supersede the execution of the judgment. R. S., 2712. The court then had jurisdiction of the cause prior to the first day of the term, by reason of the perfected appeal, and we are of the opinion was authorized to try the cause when it was called on May 7th, as fully as it would have been had the transcript from the county court •been filed before the first day of the term.

The ruling of the court below in sustaining demurrer to the answers of the appellant is assigned as error.

The statute declares, “ When one of the parents is dead, the survivor is the natural guardian of the persons of the minor children, and entitled to be appointed guardian of their estates.” R. S., 2496.

The statute further provides: “ If there be no relative of the minor qualified to take the guardianship, or if no person entitled to such .guardianship applies therefor, the court shall appoint some proper person to be such guardian.” R. S., 2501.

Article 2614, Revised Statutes, gives the grounds on which a guardian may be removed by the county court without notice, as does article 2615, Revised Statutes, give the several grounds on which a guardian may be removed by the court on its own motion, -or on the motion of any person interested in the ward or his estate, after citation to the guardian.

Hone of the grounds named in the two articles embrace the case of removal of a guardian in order that some person who originally had the prior right to the appointment, but who failed or refused to .apply for it, may be appointed. It does not follow, because a per[225]*225son was originally entitled to the guardianship of a minor’s estate, that a guardian properly appointed, for whose removal none of the. grounds named in the statute exists, will be removed to enable the person who originally would have had the better right to be appointed.

Under the recognized rules for the construction of statutes, it would seem that the enumeration of certain grounds for the removal of guardians would exclude the idea that it was intended by the legislature that they might be removed on a ground not named.

It is claimed, however, that as the statute regulating the administration of the estates of deceased persons provides that, “ When letters have been granted to one, and another, whose right thereto is prior, and who has not waived such right and who is not disqualified, makes application for letters, the letters previously granted shall be revoked and other letters shall be granted” (R. S., 1864), the same rule must prevail in reference to guardians, by force of art. 2477, R.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

In Re the Guardianship of Finley
220 S.W.3d 608 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2007)
Church v. Crites
370 S.W.2d 419 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1963)
Silber v. Southern National Life Insurance Co.
326 S.W.2d 711 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1959)
Silber v. Southern National Life Insurance Company
326 S.W.2d 715 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1959)
Kinser v. Hudgins
275 S.W.2d 847 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1955)
Timon v. Dolan
244 S.W.2d 987 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1951)
Maddux v. Booth
108 S.W.2d 329 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1937)
Bradford v. Lincoln Bank & Trust Co. of Louisville
96 S.W.2d 821 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1936)
Wilkinson v. Owens
72 S.W.2d 330 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1932)
Conner v. Polk
133 So. 604 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1931)
Lee v. Earnest
299 S.W. 931 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1927)
Newberry v. Gauntt
292 S.W. 629 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1927)
Stewart v. Moore
291 S.W. 886 (Texas Commission of Appeals, 1927)
Thomason v. McGeorge
285 S.W. 285 (Texas Commission of Appeals, 1926)
State ex rel. Baker v. Bird
162 S.W. 119 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1913)
Polasek v. Janecek
55 S.W. 522 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1900)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
62 Tex. 221, 1884 Tex. LEXIS 214, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kahn-v-israelson-tex-1884.