Okfuskey v. Corbin

1935 OK 121, 40 P.2d 1064, 170 Okla. 449, 1935 Okla. LEXIS 717
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedFebruary 5, 1935
Docket22691
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 1935 OK 121 (Okfuskey v. Corbin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Okfuskey v. Corbin, 1935 OK 121, 40 P.2d 1064, 170 Okla. 449, 1935 Okla. LEXIS 717 (Okla. 1935).

Opinion

RILEY, J.

Plaintiffs in error commenced this action in the district court of Seminole county for the securing of an interest in certain land located in said county, which was a portion of the surplus allotment of Weatie Okfuskey, a full-blood Seminole Indian, who died October 23, 1919, seized and possessed of said land. He left surviving him his widow Cindy Okfuskey. His father, Johnnie Okfuskey, also survive him. His widow, Cindy Okfuskey, is the mother of a child known as Billy Okfuskey. Plaintiffs claim that Billy Okfuskey is not the son of Weatie and Cindy Okfuskey, but is the son of Cindy by a former husband, Sutha Bruner. Defendants claim that Billie is the son of Weatie and Cindy Okfuskey, and was so found and adjudged' in a proceeding in the administration of the estate of Weatie Okfuskey in the county court of Seminole' county.

Johnnie Okfuskey died sometime in 1925, and plaintiffs claim that Johnnie inherited a one-half interest in the land left by his son Weatie, and that they are his sole heirs and inherited his one-half interest.

Defendants rely upon a finding of heir-ship and decree of distribution made and entered in the county court of Seminole county on March 24, 1921, in an administration proceeding then pending in said court in the matter of the estate of AVeatie Okfuskey, No. 2509, finding that Weatie Okfuskey left surviving him as his sole and only heirs, his wife, Cindy Okfuskey, and one child, Billie Okfuskey; and an order that the homestead allotment (not here involved) be held for use and benefit of Billie Okfuskey until the____day of_______ 1931, and distributing the surplus allotment, being the 40 acres here involved, and another 40 acres, equally between the widow, Cindy Okfuskey, and Billie Okfuskey, the child; a deed from Cindy Okfuskey to defendant V. V. Harris, conveying her individual interest in said land, a decree in an action for partition entered in the district court of Seminole county on the 8th day of August, 1922, and a sheriff’s deed executed pursuant to said decree in partition conveying the 40 acres here involved to defendant V. V. Harris. Defendants other than V. V. Harris rely on conveyances from him.

Plaintiffs assail the title pleaded by defendants and plead an order purporting to set aside the findings of heirship and decree of distribution above mentioned entered by the county court of Seminole county on March 6, 1925, and findings that Cindy Okfuskey, the widow, and Johnnie Okfuskey, the father of Weatie Okfuskey, were his sole and only heirs, and a finding that Billie Okfuskey was not a son and heir of Weatie, but was a son of one Sutha Bruner.

They further assert that the administration proceedings above mentioned were all void, and rely upon a finding of heirship in a special proceeding commenced in the county court of Seminole county, entered on the 3rd day of April, 1926, decreeing Cindy Okfuskey, the widow and Johnnie Okfuskey, the father, to be the only heirs at law of Weatie Okfuskey.

Trial was had to the court without a *450 jury, resulting in a finding, judgment, and decree in favor of defendants, and plaintiffs appeal.

The decree of the trial court is not based upon a finding that Billie Okfuskey was in fact the son of Weat.'e Okfuskey, for the trial court specifically found that he was not. The decree is based upon a holding that the original findings and decree of distribution in the administration proceedings were valid and binding, and were never appealed from, and that the county court was without power or jurisdiction to set it aside on the application of Johnnie Okfuskey filed on September 30, 1924, more than three years after it became final.

Plaintiffs contend that the judgment is erroneous. First: Because the original finding of heirship and decree of distribution in the administration proceedings were void in that the county court was without jurisdiction to make same; and second, if the county court had jurisdiction in the ad- • ministration proceedings, it had the power and jurisdiction to set aside such findings and decree of distribution on the ground of fraud, and that same was effectively done by the order of March G, 1925.

The contention is that the county court was without jurisdiction in the administration proceedings in that the petition for appointment of an administrator showed upon its face that there was no property subject to administration in that the petition alleged that Weatie Okfuskey left no personal property, and for that reason alone it is contended that the entire administration proceedings were void.

The same contention was made in Wolf v. Gills, 96 Okla. 8, 219 P. 350. After quoting the provisions of section 1088, C. O. S. 1921 (sec. 1069, O. S. 1931), as to where-wills must be proved and letters testamentary or of administration granted, it is there said:

“Under this statute, jurisdiction of the estate of a resident citizen is based, not upon the existence of assets, but upon domicile in the county, and it is, therefore, not necessary that there should be assets in order for an administrator to be appointed.”

It is then pointed out that, while it would be an abuse of discretion for a county court to appoint an administrator for a deceased resident of the county where there were no estate or statutory grounds for such appointment, such appointment would not be void.

The general rule, however, is that where jurisdiction is based upon domicile, it is not necessary that there be assets in order for the administration to be properly granted unless such requirement is created by statute. 23 C. J. 1012.

The record discloses that Weatie Okfuskey was a resident of Seminole county at the time of his death. The county court of that county had jurisdiction to appoint the administrator, and the fact that there may not have been assets subject to payment of debts d:'d not render the administration proceedings void.

The next contention is that in the event the county court did have jurisdiction of the estate of Weatie Okfuskey in cause No. 2509 (the original administration), then it had authority and jurisdiction to set aside the finding of heirship and decree of distribution made and entered on March 24, 1921, by its subsequent order of March 6, 1925, upon the alleged ground of fraud.

Defendants in error assert, and the trial court held, that the original finding of heir-ship and decree of distribution, never having been appealed from, became final and was and is binding.

The petition for appointment of administrator in the first instance was by Johnnie Okfuskey, the father of Weatie Okfuskey, deceased. It was verified by Johnnie Okfuskey, and it alleged that Billie Okfuskey, four years of age, was a son of Weatie Okfuskey and one of the heirs.

The final account and petition for distribution is not in the record, but the record shows that it was filed and nolice of hearing thereon was given and proof of service made. On March 24, 1921, said petition came regularly on for hearing, and on that date the final decree of distribution was made. It recites that due and legal notice was given and that all claimants to the estate were present, and that evidence of the witnesses was heard, and the court found in part as follows:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1935 OK 121, 40 P.2d 1064, 170 Okla. 449, 1935 Okla. LEXIS 717, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/okfuskey-v-corbin-okla-1935.