Rear v. Rear

Republic of the Philippines SUPREME COURT Manila EN BANC G.R. No. 31860 October 16, 1930 In the matter of the Estate of Charles C. Rear, deceased. J.J. WILSON, administrator-appellee, vs. M. T. REAR, ET AL., heirs-appellants. J. A. Wolfson and Lionel D. Hargis for appellants.

Juan S. Alano and Pastor Kimpo for appellee. STATEMENT July 14, 1925, Charles C. Rear was murdered by some Moros on his plantation situate in the interior of the Province of Cotabato at an isolated place, without communication except by river, about 17 kilometers from the nearest settlement of Pikit, and about 70 kilometers from the town of Cotabato. The whole plantation consisted of public lands.

J.J. Wilson qualified as special administrator of the estate on November 17,1925. Later, the property of the estate was appraised at P20,800, of which the commissioners filed an inventory and report, which was also signed by Wilson. January 4,1927, the commisioners made and filed a report of claims against the estate, but by reasons of the fact that it was claimed and alleged that the administrator did not have any funds to pay, on March 30, 1927, the court ordered the administrator to sell a portion of the property.

April 26, 1927, and with the consent of the heirs, a petition was made for authority to sell, under sealed proposal, all the property of the estate, with a view of closing the administration. October 10,1927, the court granted this petition, and after due notice, the public sale took place, and the property was sold to Wm. Mannion for P7,600.

April 26,1927, Wilson submitted a report covering his administration to that date, which was approved and later set aside on motion of the heirs of the deceased. March 23, 1928, Wilson filed his final account which later was amended on June 20,1928, to which the heirs made numerous and specific objections, and after a hearing, the court approved the account as filed. From which the heirs of the deceased appealed and assign the following errors: I. The lower court erred in approving the final amended account of the administrator for the following reasons: (a) That the alleged disbursements made by the special administrator and the administrator were far in excess of the amount required to preserve the estate; (b) That no authority being asked for or granted by the court, all loans or advances, made to the estate, were made contrary to law and are not legal charges against the estate (Trs., p.

37). (c) The court erred in admitting, over objection, Exhibits D, E and F. (d) That Wilson, as special administrator and as administrator, was neglectful and imprudent and he committed waste. He is, therefore, liable.

II. The lower court erred in refusing to allow the cross-examination and direct examination of witnesses. III.

The lower court erred in denying the request for a reasonable continuance in order to obtain depositions. Separate Opinions JOHNS, J.: It appears from the first inventory of December 27, 1925, that the assets of the estate, including real property, coconut trees, and houses were P15,300, and that the personal property was valued at P5,250, which included 80 head of cattle, carabao and horses of the value of P4,000. Although he was appointed special administrator on November 17, 1925, he never made any report or filed any account of any kind until 1927.

Neither did he apply to or obtain an order from the court of any nature during that period, and it appears that the attention of the court was for the first time called to the administration of the estate when the commissioners on claims asked to have their fees paid; otherwise, the court never made any order of any kind from December 27, 1925, to April, 1927. It also appears that at the time of his death, the only debts against the deceased were one in favor of Sewal Fleming which then amounted to P800, and one in favor of J. S. Alano for P500.

It appears from the amended final report that in the course of administration, the administrator received the following amounts from the specified sources: 1925 Nov. 30, Hogs sold (see plant. book) P108.50 Sales store (see plant.

book) 38.02 Dec. 31, Sundry products sold (see plant. book) 217.50 Old debt collected 6.00 1926 Jan.

31, Sundry farm products 76.15 Sales store 104.58 Feb. 28, Sundry products 130.00 Sales store 87.95 March 31, Sundry products 3.00 Sales store 53.12 April 30, Products 117.00 Store .25 May None (Store discontinued) June 30, Products 2.20 July Do 29.75 Aug. Do 12.80 Sept.

Do 18.40 Oct. None. Nov.

Do. Dec. Do.

1927 Jan. Products 16.00 Feb. Do 166.60 Mar.

Products 15.00 Cash received from Constabulary 20.91 Apr. Products 13.50 May Do 5.00 June Do 10.00 July Carabao sold 100.00 Two steers sold 160.00 Aug. Hogs sold 79.50 Few nuts sold 8.00 Sept.

Two steers sold 180.00 Nuts sold 12.00 Oct. $50 U. S. Liberty Bond & Interest 127.52 The total of which is