Daugherty v. Daugherty

Briscoe, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. Annie Y. Daugherty, late of Harford County, died in 1917, leaving a last will and testament in which she gave and devised all of her property to her sister Catherine Daugherty and named her as sole executrix of the will. She left surviving her as heirs at law a brother, one of the appellants, a sister, the appellee, and a number of nephews and nieces, children of the deceased brothers. . It appears that the. will was offered for probate to the Orphans’ Court of Harford County on the 6th of January, 1917, and shortly thereafter a petition, caveat and an answer to the caveat were filed. 'On the 28th of March, 1917, upon application and in the recess of the Orphans’ Court letters of administration pern ⁴⁹¹ dente lite were granted to the appellants by the Eegister of Wills of Harford County and they duly qualified as snob.

Subsequently on tlie 3rd day of April, 1917, a petition was filed by the appellee in the Orphans’ Court, wherein it is charged, in substance, first, that the appointment- of the appellants was improper and invalid, because without any notice to the appellee, a sister of the testatrix; and second, because the appellee was entitled to have letters of administration pendente Lite granted to her and not to the appellants. The prayer of the petition was that the Orphans’ Court rescind the order passed by the Eegister of Wills in the recess of the Court appointing the appellants and to appoint the petitioner and James W. McNabb as administrators pendente Hie of the estate. An answer was filed to the petition by one of the administrators, Harry S. Carver, and several motions interposed, which will he found set out in the record. On the 3rd of April, 1917, the following order was passed by the Court: “An order having been passed by the Eegister of Wills on the 28th day of March, 1917, appointing T. Benton Daugherty and Harry S. Carver administrators pendente lite of Annie Y. Daugherty, deceased, and it appearing to this Court on the petition of Catherine Daugherty and the answer thereto of Harry S. Carver, one of said administrators pendente lite, and after argument of counsel, that said order was improvidently passed and without notice to the said Catherine or her attorney, it is thereupon this 3rd day of April, in the year 1917, by the said Orphans’ Court- of Harford County adjudged and ordered that the said order appointing the said T. Benton Daugherty and Harry S. Carver administrator pendente lile of Annie Y. Daugherty he and the same is hereby rescinded, and that the question of the appointment of administrators pendente Hie on the estate of said Annie Y. Daugherty, deceased, stand for hearing on Wednesday, April 4th, 1917, at 11 o’clock A. M.” "From this order the appellants have appealed. ⁴⁹² It appears from section 440, Chapter 680 of the Acts of 1916, that the Register of Wills of Harford County, during the recess of the Orphans’ Court, has full power and jurisdiction to do all matters and things whatsoever which the said Orphans’ Court could do at its regular' sessions, and there shall be the same right of appeal from any