The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-03-20
MILLIONS ARE
 SAVED TO HEIRS
 WITHIN A YEAR
Surety Companies Protect Estates From Mistakes
 of Administrators.

American estates worth ten billions ,(x10. 0.0Oo. .O0O,0O0) are to-day being urotected by surety companies rom swindlers, ignorant administrators and other dangers of impairment, ac- cording to an estimate prepared py i Arthur P.-West, Assistant Treasurer iof the National Surety Company, ll5 Broadway, New York City.
 At least $25,OO0,000 belonging to these estates was saved by surety com panies in 1916, from being stolen or ignorantly squandered, MT. West estl- mates. : Tn New York State, on the other hand. MT. West points out, defalca- tions in 1916 were reduced to min imum through the amendment III September 1915, to the laws govern ing, Surrogate Practice. Under tnls amendment, all executors, through out the state, are obliged to give bond. unless the will expressly pro- vides otherwise. The surety com panies when they furnish these bonds insist that the fiduciaries give them joint control of the estate
 ssJoint controp' is to-day protecting thousands of helpless widows and ml- nors. whose inheritances would other wise be quickly spent through fraud and ignorance.
 To explain this protection, MT. west gives some typical instances The widow of New York merchant met a plausible South American prl- yate. banker at a dinner party some time ago. He persuaded her to ln- vest the $55, ,00O /estate which she held in trust for her children in the natlon- al bonds of a republic in the tropics. The republics history being suc- cession of revolutions and debt-repu- diations, the surety company Whlcn had Joint control of the estate, rerused to allow the investment. Within IeW months the Southern republic actual ly did repudiate its debt.
 An unscrupulous New York lawyer recently persuaded an honest but 1g- norant administrator to invest $27,ooo be1onging to an estate in piece or Manhattan property. When the sure tv company, which had joint control of the estate, investigated, the unscru- nulous lawyer was found to have'no title to the property. In his attempt. to defraud, he had initiated the print ed forms of a well known title guar antee company and had also used po- o1,s seals and signature stamps of the Countv Register and other public of- flcials.
 Many administrators have unWlt- lin elv made themselves liable. for large .,ms hecausA they have distributed to the heirs part or al1sof an estate pe- fore having the debts. Other admin istrators have impaired estates by fil- ing large bills for fictitious expenses.
 By refusing to allow certain ad- ,ninistrator to distribute an estate pre- rnaturely, a surety company recently unearthed probably the most remark pl,le s.unexpected heir" case on rec ord. A cultured and well introouceo Rostonian who, as sole heir and ad- nninistrator, was settling ms "Ae sk6. 900 estate, asked the surety com many, which had joint control, to ie. him have $10.000 in advance to s.arl a business with. Although no otner heirs were known. the surety com many insisted that the Bostonlan should wait for the legal time limit to expire before taking any or the ,ronev. Before the legal time limit arrived. an 6QuAAy OuAsASoSSA ~ well introduced Westerner appeared. It was discovered that the dead Wlre' when a girl at a New England col lege. had impulsively married the westerner. Later, after he disappear cd seeking health and money in distant state, she married the Boston ian. Instead of going to law about the ownership of the dead womans s5s.00o. the two men divided 1t.
 Many estates have also been pro- tected from bogus administrators, ac- cording to. MT. West.
 The body of drowned man was found some time ago in New York Harbor. A woman claimed it as that of her husband. Before being ap- nointed administrative of the dead mans estate, she was obliged, or course. to obtain a bond guarantee ing her integrity. The surety com -eny. which gave the bond, insisted on having joint control of the estate. Not being satisfied regarding the wo- mans identity, the surety company, to nrotect itself, sought and found oth- ar heirs. The woman proved not to have been the drowned mans wife at all-