LIBRARY OF THE LELAND STANFORD JR. UNIVERSITY. A28863 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, By D. P. BELKNAP, In the Office of the Clerk of the District Court of the United States for the Northern District of California. INTRODUCTION. THE preparation of the present volume, was suggested by the lack of uniformity observable in proceedings under the statute relative to the estates of deceased persons, and the diverse and often conflicting views of practitioners as to the proper forms to be employed and the correct practice to be followed-matters which necessarily fell under my notice while acting as Clerk of the Probate Court in the city nd county of San Francisco. It occurred to me that a careful compilation of all the statutes of our State relating to proceedings in the Probate Courts, with the amendments thereto, accompanied by a body of forms and precedents, for all such proceedings, would, even if imperfectly executed, constitute a work useful to those having occasion to practice in these courts, and also to executors, administrators and guardians,—and to all, in short, connected with or interested in the management and settlement of the estates of deceased persons. In the present work, which is prepared to meet the want thus existing, will be found a full collection of the various statutes of this State appropriate to the subject, with notes under the respective sections and chapters, of all decisions of our Supreme Court applicable, and of such other authorities within my reach as seemed in point. A large number of the latter are cases from the Texas Reports, the probate system of that State, in many respects, very closely resembling our own. The Forms contained in the Appendix are, in part, selected from the Records of the Probate Court of this County, and in part drawn from the Statute for the purpose of this work; and will be found, I think, to contain precedents for all ordinary proceedings embraced under the statutes selected. I have been much aided in my labors by Jas. F. Bowman, Esq., to whose assistancc I am greatly indebted for an early completion of the work. SAN FRANCISCO, July 26th, 1858. D. P. BELKNAP. Ꭼ Ꭱ Ꭱ Ꭺ Ꭲ Ꭺ . Page 81, note to section 195, read "See Sec. 136," for "See Sec. 131." Page 81, in the last line of the note under section 195, read "See Cole vs. Robertson, noted at the end of chapter VI." instead of "See Cole vs. Robertson, noted under section 131." Form No. 8, of Appendix, second paragraph, for "Westchester, State of California," read "Westchester, State of New York." Form No. 77 of Appendix, to the affidavit of Robert C. Johnson, after the words "is justly due to this claimant" add "that no payments have been made thereon, and that there are no offsets to the same to the knowledge of deponent." See the affidavit of N. Luning, in the preceding Form, No. 76. TABLE OF CONTENTS. INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. The Probate Court, how constituted; the County Judge to be Probate Judge, 1 2, 3 In case will is not contested, Party contesting will must file grounds of opposition-issues of fact how If will contested, all the subscribing witnesses to be examined, The will and testimony to be filed and recorded, and to be evidence, Foreign wills, and wills proved in other States-proceedings upon, Will admitted to probate may be contested within one year thereafter-pro- If not contested within one year the probate conclusive, except as to in- 36 Lost or destroyed will, proof of, etc. 37-40 |