In re Guardianship of Baxter
| Decision Date | 07 April 1921 |
| Docket Number | 33829 |
| Citation | 182 N.W. 217,191 Iowa 407 |
| Parties | IN RE GUARDIANSHIP OF ANNA BAXTER. LILLIE BAXTER, Appellant, v. CHARLES T. CHANDLER, Appellee |
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
Appeal from Ida District Court.--E. G. ALBERT, Judge.
APPLICATION for the appointment of a guardian of the property of a foreign ward. A temporary guardian, appointed by the district court of Ida County, Iowa, for the said ward, appeared and resisted the application of the alleged foreign guardian for appointment by said court. A trial was had upon the issue so tendered, and the foreign guardian was appointed as guardian of the property of said ward in this state. The temporary guardian appeals.
Affirmed.
M. M White, for appellant.
Charles Macomber, for appellee.
I.
On August 15, 1919, one Charles T. Chandler filed in the district court of Ida County, Iowa, his petition for appointment as a foreign guardian of the property of one Anna Baxter. The petitioner alleged in his petition that he was a resident of San Diego, in the state of California, and that he had been duly appointed by the superior court of San Diego County, in said state, as guardian of one Anna Baxter, who, he alleged in his petition, was a person of unsound mind, and a resident of Belmont, in the state of California. The petition alleged that the said Anna Baxter was the owner of certain property within the state of Iowa, and prayed that applicant be appointed guardian of the said property.
After said application had been filed, the appellant, Lillie Baxter, appeared in said proceedings and filed a resistance to the application for the appointment of a foreign guardian, alleging that she had been appointed temporary guardian of the said Anna Baxter by the district court of Ida County, Iowa. The grounds of her resistance were that the said Anna Baxter was a resident of Ida County, Iowa, and that the appointment of the applicant Chandler as guardian in the state of California was null and void.
Various specifications are set forth in the said resistance, but the foregoing is the substance thereof. It is conceded by all parties to the record that the ward, Anna Baxter, is, and for many years has been, a person of unsound mind. The record shows that the husband of the said Anna Baxter, one James R. Baxter, was a man of wealth, who resided for many years in Ida Grove, in this state. While so residing, his wife became mentally deranged, and was adjudged insane by the commissioners of Ida County, Iowa, and was at one time confined in the state hospital at Clarinda, from which she was discharged, as improved. Thereafter, the husband traveled to various parts of the United States and Europe, seeking medical aid for his unfortunate spouse. About 1907, he removed with her to California, and purchased a residence for her in San Diego. In 1908, her condition became so bad that it was necessary to place her in a sanitarium at Belmont, California, where she has been ever since, and now is. Prior to this time, the husband had deposited a considerable amount in a bank in San Diego in his wife's name, and she had been at one time interested as a partner in said bank.
In 1908, the husband, James R. Baxter, filed in the office of the superior court of San Diego County, California, a petition for the appointment of a guardian for his wife, alleging that she was insane, and was a resident of the city of San Diego, California, and that she had property in said state. He was duly appointed as her guardian, and continued to act as such, thereafter filing his annual reports as such guardian in said court.
In March, 1919, the said James R. Baxter died in California. After the death of the said James R. Baxter, his brother, Robinson Baxter, and a niece, Lillie Baxter, the appellant, who is the daughter of said Robinson Baxter, went to California, and the said Robinson Baxter filed his petition in the superior court of San Diego County, alleging that the former guardian, James R. Baxter, was deceased, and that the said Anna Baxter was incapable of managing her affairs, and that she was possessed of personal property of the value of about $ 50,000; and prayed that he might be appointed guardian of the person and estate of the said Anna Baxter. The court fixed a time and place for hearing of said application, and ordered notice to be given, and a citation was issued and served upon the said Anna Baxter, requiring her to appear on a certain named day, and show cause why Robinson Baxter should not be appointed guardian of her person and estate. Citation was also issued and served on one Thos. H. Hale, a resident of California, who is the brother of the said Anna Baxter. At the time of the hearing, the said Thos. H. Hale appeared and filed a resistance to the appointment of the said Robinson Baxter, and prayed that Charles T. Chandler be appointed as guardian of the person and estate of the said Anna Baxter.
A hearing was had before said court and an order entered, appointing the said Charles T. Chandler as guardian of the said Anna Baxter. Duly exemplified copies of all of the proceedings in said matter are made a part of the record in this cause. Thereafter, the said Charles T. Chandler filed his application with the district court of Ida County, Iowa, to be appointed foreign guardian of the property of the said Anna Baxter, under the provisions of Section 3213 of the Code. Before this application was filed, however, and after the unsuccessful attempt to secure the appointment of Robinson Baxter as guardian by the California court, his son, U.S. Baxter, filed a petition in the district court of Ida County, Iowa, alleging that the said Anna Baxter was a resident of Ida County, Iowa, and was now confined in a sanitarium in California, and praying that Lillie J. Baxter, a sister of the petitioner's, be appointed temporary guardian of the person and property of the said Anna Baxter. On the day on which said petition was filed, the same was presented to one of the judges of the district court of the sixteenth judicial district, who entered an order appointing said Lillie J. Baxter as temporary guardian; and she qualified as such.
The first question for our determination on this appeal is whether or not the order of the superior court of San Diego County, California, appointing the appellee, Chandler, as guardian of the said Anna Baxter, was void. Under the "full faith and credit" clause of the Federal Constitution, the courts of this state are required to recognize and give validity to the judgments of every other state of the Union. Constitution of the United States, Article IV, Section 1.
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