Hughes v. McDaniel

Delaplaine, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. James W. Hughes, an attorney, of Elkton, brought this appeal from an order of the Orphans’ Court of Cecil County discharging Alice L. McDaniel as executrix of the estate of her deceased husband, Marshall D. McDaniel, and discharging her bond, and granting her letters of administration pendente lite in that estate. ⁶³⁸ McDaniel owned a vested remainder estate in a tract of 1,368 acres of land in Cecil County. In January, 1932, he made a deed of trust of his property providing that upon his death the trust shall terminate and the corpus shall be delivered to such persons as he may by will appoint; and in default of such appointment the trustee shall deliver the corpus to the parties entitled to it under the laws of intestacy. On January 17, 1940, the Circuit Court for Cecil County appointed Hughes and Albert L. Constable as substituted trustees, and at Constable’s death Hughes became the sole trustee.

On February 8, 1940, Hughes entered into an agreement with McDaniel and his wife whereby Hughes agreed to furnish to or procure for the McDaniels such funds as shall be agreed upon by the parties, and McDaniel agreed to execute a will leaving the corpus of the trust estate to his wife for life, and after her death to Hughes absolutely. On the same day McDaniel, in accordance with the agreement, executed his will devising the remainder estate to his wife for life arid thereafter to Hughes absolutely. McDaniel died on April 28, 1952, and his will was admitted to probate on May 16, 1952. The Orphans’ Court granted letters testamentary to his widow and she qualified as executrix.

Mrs. McDaniel later decided to renounce all claim to the life estate given her by the will and to elect to take her widow’s share allowed by the testamentary law of Maryland. Code 1951, art. 93, sec. 325. On July 28 she petitioned the Orphans’ Court to allow her to resign as executrix. She alleged that she had not received or disbursed any money in behalf of the estate.

The Court passed an order thereon that she be allowed to resign upon, furnishing proof of publication of the allegations of the petition in a weekly newspaper published in Cecil County. Hughes filed a protest that she should not be discharged until she had filed an account of all receipts and disbursements as required by the Maryland testa ⁶³⁹ mentary statute. Code 1951, art. 93, sec. 41. He alleged that, in his capacity as trustee, he had paid her as executrix the sum of $800.

He also alleged that she had received the further sum of $1,000 from Richard W. Jackson, Jr., for a portion of the land in the corpus of the trust. He claimed that she sold this lot of ground to Jackson under a power of sale in the will, and that she should report the sale to the Orphans’ Court. On October 15 Mrs. McDaniel filed an account charging herself with the receipt of only $800. She claimed credit for the