In re the Estate of Welch

Works, J. — This is an appeal by an administrator from an order removing him from his trust and revoking his letters. He was first suspended by order of the court, and an attorney appointed to represent some nonresident heirs, who filed a petition for the removal of the administrator, charging him with neglect, incompetency, using the money of the estate to his own profit and advantage and to the injury of the estate, mingling the property of the estate with his own, to the danger and detriment of the estate; that his claims with respect to said estate were adverse to the estate; that he disobeyed, in letter and spirit, the lawful orders of the court; that he failed to account for money and property of the estate which came into his hands or under his control; that through his negligence and incompetency he paid out money of said estate upon a forged order to persons not entitled thereto; and that in each and all of said acts and omissions he had exhibited and shown his unfitness [181]and incompetency to be or to remain such administrator. The administrator denied each of the allegations of the petition, and upon a hearing he was removed and his letters revoked.

We have gone through all of the proceedings of the court, and the evidence at the hearing, as they appear in the record, and have searched in vain for any evidence or reason for removing the appellant from his trust. There are only two of the charges made in the petition that have even a semblance of evidence to support them, viz., that he paid out money of the estate on a forged order, and that he disobeyed the orders of the court. As to the first charge, the facts are these, as shown by the evidence: One Price was appointed by the court below to represent absent heirs. Subsequently the court made an order allowing him a fee of seventy-five dollars, as such attorney, to be paid by the administrator. The appellant, on the order being presented to him, applied to his attorney, and was advised that it was his duty to pay the amount. After this, Price, who was evidently a drunken and unreliable man, applied to the appellant for small amounts of money, representing that he was in need, and that he would be allowed a fee of from $750 to $1,000. On these representations the appellant let him have money until the amount ran up to $212.90. Price then applied to him, representing that the court had allowed him a fee of $350, and asking that he pay him the balance of the amount over and above what he had already received. This the appellant refused to do. Ee then said he would get an order of court, and subsequently came back accompanied by a man, who it was claimed was his uncle, and presented what purported to be an order allowing him a fee of $350. He was then in a state of intoxication. The appellant refused to pay the money to him in his then condition, but did pay it to his uncle. The order upon which the money was paid was a forgery.