Case Name: Matter of Van Wert's Estate
Court: New York Surrogate's Court
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 1893-05
Citations: 3 Misc. 563
Docket Number: 
Parties: Matter of Van Wert’s Estate.
Judges: 
Reporter: New York Miscellaneous Reports
Volume: 3
Pages: 563–567

Head Matter:
Matter of Van Wert’s Estate.
(Surrogate’s Court—Westchester County,
May, 1893.)
Letters of administration, were granted in October, 1877. The administrator next of kin, died in December, 1889. The next year the surviving administrator voluntarily commenced proceedings for the settlement of his accounts, and the following year, before its conclusion, J., the only other next of kin, died. The deceased administrator received moneys and property of the estate amounting to at least §35,000, which was nearly the amount of the original estate. The administrators of the deceased administrator were not called to account, nor did they voluntarily render any account. Held, that the claims of the next of kin of J. and of the administrator of the deceased administrator were barred by the Statute of Limitations.
An administrator cannot be allowed upon accounting, his costs and charges in actions in which he was concerned as attorney.
Matter of the judicial settlement of the accounts of Thornton M. Riven, surviving administrator, etc., of John A. Van Wert, deceased, intestate.
The intestate died in 1877. In October, 1877, letters of administration on his estate were issued to William A. Van Wert and Thornton M. Riven, both of Sullivan county. The intestate, who resided in Westchester county, had intrusted General A. 0. Riven of Monticello, a lawyer, with the investment of his funds, and the securities therefor were delivered by Mm to the administrators after their appointment. The only next of kin of the intestate were said William A. Van Wert and Julia A. Van Wert. No inventory of the assets was filed until about the time of the commencement of this proceeding, but a memorandum thereof was made shortly after the intestate’s death. The administrators proceeded to manage the estate without rendering any account of their proceedings, down to the time of the death of William A. Van Wert, one of the administrators, which occurred on the 2d of December, 1889, when his sons, Charles A. and Frederick B., became Ms administrators and are parties to this proceeding, as also said Julia A. Van Wert, who died in January, 1891, pending the same, leaving as her next of kin the children of said William A. Van Wert. This is a voluntary accounting on the part of the surviving administrator. Julia A. in her lifetime, as well as the administrators of William A., filed objections to the account. Toward the close of the evidence taken, the accounting party interposed the Statute of Limitations against the claims of the contestants.
Thornton M. Niven, in person (Walter Ndwards, of counsel).
John T. Anderson (Z. T. Tale, of counsel), for contestants.

Opinion:
Coitim, S.
It is an undisputed fact that the deceased admimstrator received moneys and property of the intestate amounting to at least $25,000, which was nearly the amount of the original estate. Neither this administrator as survivor nor any person interested in the estate has called upon the administrators of the deceased administrator to account, nor have those administrators voluntarily rendered any account, as-provided by section 2606 of the Code. How, then, can it be expected that Ur. Niven should account and be held liable for the whole assets, when the greater part fell into the hands of Ms coadministrator, whether originally taken by Mm, or handed over to him by Niven ? Non constat but that they, or the greater part of them, remained in his hands at the time of his death. If an accounting had taken place under the above section of the Code, the fact would, perhaps, have been ascertained whether he had misapplied or wasted them, and whether Ti ven, by handing them to him, or permitting him to take them, was chargeable with a devastmit. It seems, under the circumstances, that this accounting must fail of producing satisfactory and conclusive results. It is true, however, that, under the provisions of section 2129, one of two or more administrators may present a petition for the judicial settlement of his separate account, and pray that his coadministrator may be cited to attend. That is not this case, but the administrators of the deceased administrator have been cited.
The duties of the deceased administrator were paramount to his interests as next of kin, and his administrators in this proceeding stand precisely in his place. They can no more question any act of his than he could, if he were alive and a party to this matter. He certainly could not be allowed to charge his coadministrator with a devastavit in handing over the moneys of the estate to him, or of taking title to himself of lands sold under the foreclosure of a mortgage belonging to the estate, or of taking assignments of such mortgages to himself. If he were guilty of a devastmit his administrators are in no position to allege it in this proceeding. The administrators seem to have acted hi entire harmony in mismanaging the affairs of the estate and each one appears to have had a knowledge of what the other one did, and no complaint was ever made. Their duty was a plain statutory one, and they should have closed up the matter many years since; but instead of doing so they appear to have managed it as though it all belonged to the two next of kin, as it did, without regard to the fact that they must die, when others might step in and criticise their acts. The only safe guides for executors and administrators are the statutes on the subject. A failure to observe them almost inevitably leads to trouble. Here they invested and reinvested moneys and did many other things that were entirely foreign to their duties, but of which these contesting administrators have no right to complain; and hence their objections must fall.
The Statute of Limitations is invoked as a protection by the accounting party, and it would seem that it is a shield of which he may rightfully avail himself here. Administration . was granted in October, 1877. One year from that time the distributive shares became due. The administrator next of kin died in December, 1889, the next year this voluntary proceeding was commenced, and the next year, before its conclusion, Julia Van Wert, the only other' next of kin, died. About twelve years, therefore, elapsed before any settlement of the estate was sought or commenced, within which it could have been done. It was held in the case of House v. Agate, 3 Redf. 307, affirmed by the General Term on appeal, that in such case the statute was a bar. It was also held in that case that the fact that the executor applied for a voluntary accoupting did not deprive him of the right to set up the statute. The same doctrine was held in the Matter of Clayton, 1 Connolly, 444. All of the assets of this estate fell at once into the hands of the administrators, and it does not appear that any have since been received. The interest they subsequently received on securities other than such as were accruing at the intestate's death, was not a portion of the assets received by them. It may be said that payments were made by the accounting party to "W. A. Tan Wert, coadministrator and next of kin," as he states in his account, which operate to take the case out of the statute. A payment usually to revive a claim barred, is upon some previous fixed sum, but here there was and could be nothing of the kind. I am inclined to think that if there were such payment it would not operate to take the case out of the effect of the statute. However that may be, as above remarked, the duties of the deceased administrator were paramount to his rights as next of kin, and he must be deemed to have received such moneys in his official capacity, to be duly administered by him.
As to Julia Yan Wert, it does not appear that the accounting party ever paid to her anything on account as next of kin or otherwise since 1878. It was claimed, however, by him that his coadministrator acted as agent for Julia, and that he handed him money for her, while this is denied by the contestants. In my view of the matter it is unnecessary to decide the controversy. The statute bars her claim.
It seems to me that on both the above grounds the contestants have established no liability to them on the part of Mr. Riven. If this be so, then the question as to his having or not filed proper vouchers, is of no concern to the contestants. And again, if it be correctly held that the moneys paid for or handed to the deceased administrator came into his hands in his official capacity only, then they were not payments, and vouchers are only required for payments made of debts or shares or other liabilities.
There should be disallowed to Mr. Riven, however, his costs and charges in actions in which he was concerned as attorney. I so held in the case of Campbell v. Purdy, 5 Redf. 434.
A decree will be prepared according to the views above expressed, with costs to the surviving administrator.