AMENDING SECTION 16-415 OF THE CODE OF LAWS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, TO PROVIDE FOR THE ENFORCEMENT OF COURT ORDERS FOR THE PAYMENT OF TEMPORARY AND PERMANENT MAINTENANCE JUNE 7, 1949. Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed Mr. HARRIS. from the Committee on the District of Columbia, submitted the following REPORT To accompany S. 1125) The Committee on the District of Columbia, to whom was referred the bill (S. 1125), to amend section 16-415 of the Code of Laws of the District of Columbia, to provide for the enforcement of court orders for the payment of temporary and permanent maintenance in the same manner as directed to enforce orders for permanent alimony, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. The purpose of this bill is to provide that when a husband has failed or refused to maintain his wife and minor children the court may order the husband to pay as temporary maintenance, such sum as would be allowed as temporary alimony and the court would enforce the orders in the same manner as payment of permanent alimony is enforced. The court already has this authority with respect to ordering and enforcing payment of permanent maintenance. This bill has been approved by the District of Columbia Bar Association. The Commissioners recommend enactment of the legislation. An excerpt from their letter of March 17 is made a part of this report. The purpose of this bill is to provide that when a husband has failed or refused to maintain his wife and minor children the court may order the husband to pay, as temporary maintenance, such sum as would be allowed as temporary alimony and the court could enforce the orders in the same manner as payment of permanent alimony is enforced. The court already has this authority with respect to ordering and enforcing payment of permanent maintenance. This bill has been approved by the District of Columbia Bar Association Time has not permitted the ascertainment of advice from the Bureau of the Budget as to the relationship of this legislation to the program of the President. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW In compliance with paragraph 2a of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, as introduced, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italics, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): [Whenever any husband shall fail or refuse to maintain his wife and minor children, if any, although able so to do, the court, on application of the wife, may decree that he shall pay her, periodically, such sums as would be allowed to her as permanent alimony in case of divorce for the maintenance of herself and the minor children committed to her care by the court, and the payment thereof may be enforced in the same manner as directed in regard to such permanent alimony.] Whenever any husband shall fail or refuse to maintain his wife and minor children, if any, although able so to do, the court, on application of the wife, pendente lite and permanently, may decree that he shall pay her, periodically, such sums as would be allowed to her as pendente lite or permanent alimony in case of divorce for the maintenance of herself and the minor children, if any, committed to her care by the court, and the payment thereof may be enforced in the same manner as directed in regard to the payment of permanent alimony. In the case of Bates v. Bates (79 U. S. App. D. C. 14, 141 F. 2d 723), it was held that under sections 16-410, 16-411, and 16-415 the court has the power to imprison a defendant to enforce its orders for the payment of temporary alimony, permanent alimony, and permanent maintenance, because such imprisonment is specifically provided for in the code. It was further held that orders for the payment of temporary maintenance could not be enforced by imprisonment because the code does not specifically so provide. AMENDING SECTIONS 130 AND 131 OF THE ACT TO ESTABLISH A CODE OF LAW FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA RELATING TO THE NOTICE TO BE GIVEN UPON A PETITION FOR PROBATE OF A WILL AND TO THE PROBATE OF SUCH WILL JUNE 7, 1949. Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed Mr. HARRIS, from the Committee on the District of Columbia, submitted the following REPORT To accompany S. 1127) The Committee on the District of Columbia, to whom was referred the bill (S. 1127) to amend sections 130 and 131 of the act entitled "An act to establish a code of law for the District of Columbia," approved March 3, 1901, relating to the notice to be given upon a petition for probate of a will, and to the probate of such will, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. The purpose of this bill is to simplify the present process in connection with probate matters. This bill was endorsed by the District of Columbia Bar Association which presented the following justification: Though personal service of process outside of this District can be made in every other comparable situation, including the service of the notice required in a will contest, the routine notice to heirs required in an uncontested proceeding for probate involves, indispensably, the delay and the ($30 to $40) expense of publication against any nonresident heirs or next of kin, who fail or refuse to file consents to the probate. This bill will permit service of the notice in uncontested cases to be served personally outside the District, as it can now be done in cases of contest. Moreover, when any person in interest has not been personally served with citation upon a petition for probate in the District of Columbia, and is not to be so served outside said District, the proponent of the will may publish the usual notice against such person upon filing an affidavit that he is a nonresident. At present such publication cannot be had without first issuing a citation to be held by the Marshal here 10 days and to be then returned "Not to be found." This act does not require that return of "Not to be found" but instead permits publication to be made upon proof of its need by affidavit Thus the act permits notice of an uncontested petition for probate: (1) by personal service by the Marshal or his deputy in this District as heretofore; (2) by publication after a return "Not to be found," as heretofore; (3) by imme diate personal service of the citation, outside the District, upon any person in interest who is shown by the petition for probate, or by other affidavit, to be a nonresident; (4) by personal service outside the District upon any person in interest who is a resident of the District, but returned "Not to be found"; and (5) by immediate publication against any heirs shown by the petition for probate, or by other affidavit, to be a nonresident. The words in our present statute "exclusive of Sundays" have been omitted as unnecessary-leaving time to be computed as it is elsewhere in our legal procedure. The Commissioners of the District of Columbia concurred with the bar association in urging the passage of this bill. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW In compliance with paragraph 2a of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, as introduced, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italics, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): [SEC. 130. CITATION.-Upon the filing of a petition for probate of a will a citation shail be issued to all persons who would be entitled to or interested in the estate of the testator in case such will had not been executed to appear in said court on a day named, not earlier than ten days, exclusive of Sundays, after the filing of said petition, and show cause why the prayer of the petition should not be granted. If said citation shall appear from the return thereof to have been served upon all said persons at least five days before the day named as aforesaid, the said court shall proceed, if no caveat be filed, to take the proofs of the execution of said will. But if any of the parties interested, as aforesaid, as heirs, next of kin, or otherwise, shall be returned "Not to be found," the said court shall cause not less than thirty days' notice of the application of such probate to be published once in each of three successive weeks in some newspaper of general circulation in said District, and may order such other publication as the case may require, and shall cause a copy of such publication to be mailed to the last known post-office address of each of the parties so returned not to be found. In all cases where it is made to appear to the satisfaction of the court that all or any of the next of kin or heirs at law of the deceased are unknown, such unknown next of kin or heirs at law may be proceeded against and described in the publication of notice herein before provided for as "the unknown next of kin,” or "the unknown heirs at law," as the case may be, of the deceased, and by such publication of such notice under such designation such unknown next of kin and heirs at law shall be as effectually bound and concluded as if known and their names were specifically set forth in said order of publication. In case any will shall have been admitted to probate prior to June 30, 1902, upon publication against unknown heirs or next of kin, any person interested may file a petition for further probate of such will, alleging that the heirs at law or next of kin of the deceased, or some of them, as the case may be, are unknown, and upon satisfactory showing being made to the court publication of notice may be made against the unknown next of kin or heirs at law of the deceased; and upon such publication being made, as required by the court, a decree may be made confirming such previous probate, and such decree so made shall be as effectual as if the said heirs at law or next of kin were named in the order of publication.] SEC. 130. CITATION.-Upon the filing of a petition for probate of a will, notice, as hereinafter provided, shall be issued to all persons who would be entitled to or interested in the estate of the testator in case such will had not been executed to appear in said court on a date named in the notice, and to show cause why the prayer of the petition should not be granted. (a) Such notice may be by a citation in which the return date named is not earlier than ten days after the filing of said petition, and which citation shall be served in the District of Columbia, by the United States marshal, or deputy marshal, not less than five days before the return day named in said citation. (b) Such notice may be a citation in which the return date named is not earlier than twenty days for the filing of said petition, and which citation shall be served not less than ten days before the return date named in said citation: Provided, That such citation may be served only on no residents of the District of Columbia, and |