Hadley v. Gregory

• Decision Date: 24 October 1881
• Citation: 57 Iowa 157,10 N.W. 319
• Parties: HADLEY, ADM'R, ETC., v. GREGORY AND OTHERS.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

57 Iowa 157

10 N.W. 319

HADLEY, ADM'R, ETC.,

v.GREGORY AND OTHERS.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

Filed October 24, 1881.

Appeal from the Adair circuit court.

The plaintiff filed his petition in the circuit court asking for an order authorizing the sale of the lands belonging to the estate of which he is administrator, for the payment of the debts of the intestate. The order was made and defendants appeal. The facts of the case appear in the opinion.H. E. Long, for appellants.

Gow & Hager, for appellee.

BECK, J.

1. Plaintiffs intestate died in the state of Indiana, where he was a resident. Administration was there had upon his estate, and the personal assets were used in the payment of debts and costs of the probate proceedings. All debts against the estate were proved before the probate court of Indiana, and proper orders were made for their payment. Ancillary administration was had in Adair county, and exemplifications of the record of the Indiana probate court were filed in the circuit court. The administrator filed his petition therein showing the proceedings in Indiana, and alleging that intestate died seized of certain lands in Adair county, which he prayed the court would order to be sold for the payment of the debts allowed against the estate. The petition properly shows the condition of the estate, the amount of the debts allowed, etc. No question is raised as to the regularity of the proceedings either in Indiana or Iowa.

The record shows that the intestate died October 13, 1874. November 16, 1874, administration was granted in Indiana, and prior to the twenty-second day of November, 1876, all claims against the estate were presented and allowed, and a final report of the administrator was filed and approved, showing full administration upon the personal assets of the estate. May 13, 1879, the petition in this case for the sale of the lands of the estate was filed. The indebtedness, for the payment of which the administrator asks that the lands be sold, consists of the claims allowed in Indiana. No claims were originally presented in the court below. Other facts of the case need not be presented here, in view of the disposition we make of the case.

2. The decisive question in the case is this: Is the application for the sale of the lands barred by the lapse of time since allowance of the claims in the Indiana court? We have held that application for the sale of real estate for the payments of the debts of the intestate cannot be made after the expiration of the time allowed for establishing claims has been allowed, unless peculiar circumstances exist which authorize a court of equity to depart from the rule. McCrarey v. Fasker, 41 Iowa, 255;Conger v. Cook, 8 N. W. REP. 206.

We may concede, for the purpose of this case, that the law prevailing in Indiana which operates to limit the time for filing claims against the estate must be applied to this case. The fact that the administration in...