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12 Neb. 343

Loosemore v. Smith

Nebraska Supreme Court

Decided January 15, 1882

Nebraska Supreme Court · decided 1882-01-15

<p>1. Probating Will: jurisdiction of county court. The county court has original jurisdiction in the probate of a will, and its order admitting a will to probate is conclusive, unless by a direct proceeding, by appeal, or otherwise, it is reversed.</p> <p>2. -: jurisdiction of district court. The district court has no original jurisdiction to set aside a will or the probate of the same.</p>

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1882-01-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 8 later decisions — most recently November 1965

8 state decisions

30188218901900191019201930194019501960decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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Maxwell, J.

¶1This is a petition in equity to set aside the will of one-Thomas Smith, deceased, which will was admitted to probate in the county court of Otoe county, on the 31st day of December, 1879. The question to be determined is, is the probate of a will conclusive in the absence of a statute-authorizing the filing of a petition in equity to set it aside ? In other words, in the absence of a statute conferring authority, has the district court original jurisdiction in such ease ?

¶2*344Section 143 of- chapter 23, Comp. Statutes, entitled Decedents, provides that: “ No will shall be effectual to pass either real or personal estate, unless it shall have been duly proved and allowed in the probate court as provided in this chapter, or on appeal in the- district court, and the probate of the will, of real or personal estate, as above mentioned, shall be conclusive as to its due execution.”

¶3In the case of Tarver v. Tarver, 9 Peters, 174, it was held that an original bill would not be sustained on an allegation that the probate of the will was -void; that if any error was committed in admitting the will to probate it should have been corrected on appeal. To the same -effect is the Broderick will case. 21 Wall., 504.

¶4In Bumstead v. Reed, 31 Barb., 661, it was held that where, upon an application to a surrogate for probate of a will and for letters testamentary thereon, the residence of the testator at the time of his death, in the county of such surrogate, is plainly averred in the petition, and is not in any way controverted, but is substantially admitted by all the parties interested in said bill, and is practically established by sufficient evidence, as a fact, by that tribunal, that court has jurisdiction of the case; Its determination Is conclusive as to the validity and probate of the will, and cannot be examined or assailed in any collateral proceeding, or in any other tribunal of original jurisdiction.

¶5In Matter of will of Wanfield, 22 Cal., 51, it was held that where the probate court acquires jurisdiction to probate a will by the presentation to it of a proper petition for that purpose, and the publication of notice of the time of. proving the will, and afterwards in such proceeding admits the will to probate, its determination is final, -except upon a direct proceeding by appeal, or otherwise, to reverse it, and cannot be questioned collaterally. To the same effect is Rogers v. King, Id., 71. State v. *345McGlynn, 20 Id., 233. Castro v. Richardson, 18 Id., 478. Telford v. Barney, 1 G. Greene, 575. Singleton v. Singleton, 8 B. Mon., 340. Hughey v. Sidwell, 18 Id,, 259. Tabhott v. Berry, 10 Id., 473. Jourden v. Meier, 31 Mo., 40. Poplin v. Hawke, 8 N. H., 124. Hill v. Burger, 10 How. Pr., 264.

¶6The statutes of a number of the states provide for commencing an original action within a limited period, for the purpose of establishing the invalidity of a will, but we have no such statute, and under our law an order admitting a will to probate is conclusive-, unless an appeal is taken to the district court as provided in secs. 42 and 43 of the probate law. [Comp. Stat., 210]. This being an original action, and the district court having no jurisdiction in such case, its judgment dismissing the case must be affirmed.

¶7Judgment Affirmed.

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