In re Lane's Estate

• Citation: 65 A. 102, 79 Vt. 323
• Case Date: November 20, 1906
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Vermont

65 A. 102
79 Vt. 323

In re LANE'S ESTATE. Appeal of LANE et al.

Supreme Court of Vermont. Chittenden.

Nov. 20, 1906.

Exceptions from Chittenden County Court; John H. Watson, Judge.

Proceedings for the settlement of the account of Horace L. Moore, executor of the will of Burrill Lane, deceased. A judgment of the probate court allowing the account was affirmed. Edward B. Lane and others, legatees under the will, appealed, and on affirmance of the allowance in the county court, they except. Affirmed.

Argued before ROWELL, C. J., and TYLER, MUNSON, HASELTON, and POWERS, JJ.

A. V. Spaulding and R. E. Brown, for appellants. Elihu B. Taft and Edmund C. Mower, for appellee.

HASELTON, J. This was an appeal from the allowance by the probate court of the account of Horace L. Moore, as executor of the will of Burrill Lane, presented by the administrator of said Moore's estate. The case was heard by the county court on the report of a commissioner, and judgment was rendered allowing the account as allowed and reported by the commissioner. The appellants excepted.

Item 61 of the account is a credit of $500 to the executor for services. It appeared that Burrill Lane died February 24, 1877, leaving an estate worth some $12,000. This was disposed of by a will in which Horace L. Moore was named as executor. Moore qualified and acted as such until his death, January 31, 1901. The will provided that a certain portion of the estate should remain in the hands of the executor during the life time of a legatee who in fact survived the executor. The executor made various settlements with legatees, but died without closing the estate. The commissioner reports in considerable detail what the executor did towards the settlement of the estate, and reports his findings with regard to services and his allowance therefor as follows; "Taking into consideration what was done by said Horace L. Moore as executor of said estate under Burrill Lane's will, I find that his duties were faithfully performed, except so far as he failed to render his account and have the same settled in his lifetime, and, as the evidence shows that his services were worth $500 to the estate, item 61 is allowed as charged at the sum of $500."

The first question before this court is simply whether, as matter of law, this item should have been disallowed in the judgment rendered by the county court. The statutes of this state provide that every executor shall render an account within one year from the time of receiving his letters testamentary, unless the probate court extends this time, and that he shall render further accounts as required by the court until the estate is settled; that the probate court shall examine every executor upon oath as to the correctness of his account before the same is allowed, except when no objection

65 A. 103

is made to the account, and its correctness is established by competent testimony. The filing of an account within the time provided by statute is wisely required, and, in determining whether compensation shall be allowed an executor, and if compensation is allowed in determining the amount of the compensation, failure to file an...