Sixth. The residue, if any, of the personal estate, shall be distributed in the same proportion, and to the same persons, and for the same purpose, as prescribed for the descent and disposition of real estate.

Seventh. All of the foregoing provisions shall apply as well to a surviving husband as to a surviving wife or widow. (As amended 1876, c. 42, § 1.)

§ 2. What probate court to have jurisdiction. When any person dies intestate, being an inhabitant of this state, letters of administration of his estate shall be granted by the probate court of the county of which he was an inhabitant or resident at the time of his death. If such deceased person, at the time of death, resides in any other territory, state or country, leaving estate to be administered in this state, administration thereof shall be granted by the probate court of any county in which there is estate to be administered; and the administration first legally granted shall extend to all the estate of the deceased in this state, and exclude the jurisdiction of the probate court of every other county.

23 M. 84.

§ 3. Who entitled to letters of administration. Administration of the estate of a perso dying intestate shall be granted to one or more of the persons hereinafter mentioned, and they shall be respectively entitled to the same in the following order :

First. The widow, or next of kin, or both, as the judge of probate may think proper, or such person as the widow or next of kin may request to have appointed, if suitable and competent to discharge the trust.

Second. If the widow, or next of kin, or the person selected by them, is unsuitable or incompetent, or if the widow or next of kin neglects for thirty days after the death of the intestate to apply for administration, or to request that administration be granted to some other person, the same may be granted to one or more of the principal creditors, if any such are competent and willing to take it.

Third. If there is no such creditor competent and willing to take administration, the same may be committed to such other person as the judge of probate may think proper.

§4. Administrator to give bond. Every administrator, before he enters upon the execution of his trust, and before letters of administration are granted to him, shall give a bond to the judge of probate, with such sureties as he shall direct and approve, with the same conditions as required in case of an executor, with such variations only as are necessary to make it applicable to the case of an administrator.

21 M. 447.

§ 5. Special administrator appointed, when. When there is a delay in granting letters testamentary or of administration, occasioned by an appeal from the allowance or disallowance of a will, or from any other cause, the judge of probate may appoint an administrator to act in collecting and taking charge of the estate of the deceased, until the question on the allowance of the will, or such other question as occasions the delay, is terminated, and an executor or administrator is thereupon appointed; and no appeal shall be allowed from the appointment of such special administrator.

$6. Powers and duties of special administrator. An administrator appointed according to the provisions of the preceding section shall collect all the goods, chattels and debts of the deceased, and preserve the same for the executor or administrator who may afterward be appointed; and for that purpose may commence and maintain actions as an administrator, and sell such perishable and other personal estate as the probate court may order to be sold.

$7. Special administrator not liable for debts. Such special administrator shall not be liable to an action by any creditor, or to be called upon in any other way to pay the debts against the deceased.

§ 8. Special administrator to give bond. Every such special administrator shall, before

entering upon the duties of his trust, give a bond to the judge of probate, in such sum as he shall direct, with a condition that he will make and return a true inventory of all the goods, chattels, rights, credits and effects of the deceased, which come to his possession or knowledge: and that he will truly account for all the goods, chattels, debts and effects of the deceased, which shall be received by him, whenever required by the probate court; and shall deliver the same to the person who shall afterward be appointed executor or administrator of the deceased, or to such other person as shall be legally authorized to receive the same.

$9. Powers of special administrator cease, when. Upon granting letters testamentary or of administration on the estate of the deceased, the power of such special administrator shall cease, and he shall forthwith deliver to the executor or administrator, all the goods, chattels, money or effects of the deceased in his hands; and the executor or administrator may be admitted to prosecute to final judgment any action commenced by such special administrator.

$10. Embezzlement, etc., before letters issue-penalty. If any person, before the granting of letters testamentary or of administration, embezzles or alienates any of the moneys, goods, chattels or effects of any deceased person, such person shall stand chargeable, and be liable to the action of the executor or administrator of such estate, for double the value of the property so embezzled or alienated, to be recovered for the benefit of such estate.

§ 11. Administration with will annexed. When any sole executor or administrator dies without having fully administered the estate, the probate court may grant letters of administration with the will annexed, or otherwise, as the case may require, to some suitable person, to administer the goods and estate of the deceased not already administered.

§ 12. Removal of administrator. If an administrator resides out of this state, or neglects, after due notice by the judge of probate, to render his account, and to settle the estate according to law, or to perform any decree of said court, or absconds, or becomes insane, or otherwise unsuitable or incapable of discharging the trust, the probate court may remove such administrator.

4 M. 11 (25).

§ 13. (SEC. 14.) Execution of trust after removal, etc., of administrator. When an administrator is removed, or his authority extinguished, the remaining administrator, if any, may execute the trust; if there is no other, the court of probate may commit administration of the estate not already administered, to some suitable person, as in case of the death of a sole administrator.

§ 14. (SEC. 15.) Powers of administrator de bonis non. An administrator appointed in the place of any former executor or administrator, for the purpose of administering the estate not already administered, has the same power, and shall proceed in settling the estate in the same manner, as the former executor or administrator had, or should have done; and may prosecute or defend any action commenced by or against the former executor or administrator, and have execution on any judgment recovered in the name of such former executor or administrator.

§ 15. (SEC. 16.) First administration to be revoked on proving will. If, after the granting of letters of administration by any probate court on the estate of any deceased person, as if he had died intestate, a will of such deceased person is duly proved and allowed by such court, the first administration shall, by decree of said court, be revoked, and the powers of the administrator cease; and he shall thereupon surrender his letters of administration into the probate court, and render an account of his administration, within such time as the court shall direct.

§ 16. (SEC. 17.) Powers of executor in such cases. The executor of the will, in such case, is entitled to demand, sue for and collect all the goods, chattels, rights and credits of the deceased remaining unadministered, and may be admitted

to prosecute to final judgment any suit commenced by the administrator before the revocation of his letters of administration.

§ 17. (SEC. 18.) Acts of executor, etc., before revocation of letters, valid. All acts of an executor or administrator, as such, before the revocation of his letters testamentary or of administration, are valid to all intents and purposes.

$18. (SEC. 19.) Joint or separate bonds may be taken. When two or more persons are appointed administrators on any estate, the judge of probate may take a joint or separate bond with sureties.

$ 19. (SEC. 20.) When application for administration-service on consul. When application is made to the judge of probate for the appointment of an administrator of an intestate estate, or for letters of administration with the will annexed, he shall cause notice of the same, and of the time and place of hearing thereof, to be published for three successive weeks in such newspaper as he shall direct; and when such application is made by any person, not the widow or of kin to the deceased, and the deceased was a native of any foreign country, the judge of probate shall cause such notice of the time and place of hearing such application to be served on the consul or other representative of the kingdom, state or country of which the deceased was a native, residing in the state of Minnesota, who may have filed a copy of his appointment as such consul or representative with the secretary of the state, by depositing a copy thereof in the post-office, postage paid, addressed to such consul or representative; and in case the kingdom, state or country of which deceased was a native, shall have no consul or representative in the state of Minnesota, then such notice shall be served as aforesaid on the secretary of state. and shall be by him forwarded to the representative of such kingdom, state or country at the city of Washington. (As amended 1871, c. 56, § 1.)

CHAPTER LIL

INVENTORY AND COLLECTION OF THE EFFECTS OF DECEASED PERSONS.

§1. Executor or administrator to make inventory. Every executor or administrator shall, within three months after his appointment, make and return into the probate court a true inventory of the real estate, and of all the goods, chattels, rights and credits of the deceased, which have come to his possession or knowledge; but an executor who is a residuary legatee, and has given bond to pay all the debts and legacies, as provided by law, shall not be required to return an inventory.

§ 2. Appraisers to be appointed and sworn. The estate and effects comprised in the inventory shall be appraised by two or inore disinterested persons, appointed by

the judge of probate for that purpose, who shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of their trust; and if any part of such estate or effects are in any other county, appraisers thereof may be appointed in such county by said judge.

$3. Appraisal, how made and certified. The appraisers shall set down, opposite to each item in such inventory, distinctly, in figures, the value thereof in money, and deliver the same, certified by them, to the executor or administrator.

§ 4. Inventory, etc., of property allowed widow. A separate and distinct inventory and appraisement shall be made and returned, as aforesaid, of all the household furniture and other personal property which may be allowed to the widow, pursuant to the provisions of the preceding chapter; but the same shall not be considered assets in the hands of the executor or administrator.

§ 5. Estate, in what order chargeable with debts. The personal estate of the deceased which comes into the hands of the executor or administrator is first chargeable with the payment of the debts and expenses; and if the goods, chattels, rights and credits, in the hands of the executor or administrator, are not sufficient to pay the debts of the deceased, and the expenses of administration, the whole of his real estate, except the widow's dower, or so much thereof as may be necessary, may be sold for that purpose by the executor or administrator, after obtaining license therefor, in the manner provided by law.

14 M. 65.

§ 6. Rights of executor, etc., in real estate. The executor or administrator has a right to the possession of all the real, as well as personal estate of the deceased, and may receive the rents, issues and profits of the real estate, until the estate is settled, or until delivered over, by order of the probate court, to the heirs or devisees; and he shall keep in good tenantable repair all houses, buildings and fences thereon which are under his control.

14 M. 65; 22 M. 249.

§ 7. Proceedings on complaint for embezzlement. If any executor or administrator, heir, legatee, creditor or other person interested in the estate of any deceased person, complains to the judge of probate, on oath, that any person is suspected to have concealed, embezzled, carried away or disposed of any money, goods or chattels of the deceased, or that such person has in his possession or knowledge any deeds, conveyances, bonds, contracts, or other writings which contain evidence of or tend to disclose, the right, title, interest or claim of the deceased to any real or personal estate, or any claim or demand, or any last will and testament of the deceased, the said judge may cite such suspected person to appear before the court of probate, and may examine him on oath upon the matter of such complaint.

§ 8. Persons cited, refusing to appear, etc., may be committed. If the person so cited refuses to appear and submit to such examination, or to answer such interrogatories as may be put to him touching the matter of such complaint, the court may, by warrant for that purpose, commit him to the common jail of the county, there to remain in close custody, until he submits to the order of the court; and all such interrogatories and answers shall be in writing, signed by the party examined, and filed in the probate court.

9. Proceedings to compel accounting. The judge of probate, upon the complaint, on oath, of any executor or administrator, may cite any person who has been intrusted by such executor or administrator with any part of the estate of the deceased person, to appear before such court; and may require such person to render a full account, on oath, of any money, goods, chattels, [bonds], accounts, or other papers belonging to such estate, which have come to his possession, in trust for such executor or administrator, and of his proceedings thereon; and if the person so cited refuses to appear and render such account, the court may proceed against him as provided in the preceding section.

§ 10. Executor may compound with debtor, when. When any debtor of a deceased person is unable to pay all his debts, the executor or administrator, with the ap

probation of the judge of probate, may compound with such debtor, and give him a discharge, upon receiving a fair and just dividend of his effects.

§ 11. Interest of mortgagee to be personal assets. When any mortgagee of real estate or any assignee of such mortgage, dies without having foreclosed the right of redemption, all the interest in the mortgaged premises conveyed by such mortgage, and the debts secured thereby, shall be considered as personal assets in the hands of the executor or administrator; and he may foreclose the same, and have any other remedy for the collection of such debt which the deceased could have had, if living; or may continue any proceedings commenced by the deceased for that purpose.

§ 12. Release by executor, etc., on redemption-purchase on foreclosure. In case of the redemption of any such mortgage, or the sale of the mortgaged premises, by virtue of a power of sale contained therein or otherwise, the money paid thereon shall be received by the executor or administrator, and he shall thereupon give all necessary releases and receipts; and if, upon a sale of the mortgaged premises, the same is bid in by the executor or administrator for such debt, he shall be seized of the same, for the same persons, whether creditors, next of kin or others, who would have been entitled to the money, if the premises had been redeemed, or purchased at such sale by some other person.

§ 13. Sale of real estate so purchased. Any real estate so held by an executor or administrator, or which is purchased by him, as such, upon a sale on execution for the recovery of a debt due the estate, may be sold for the payment of debts or legacies, and the charges of administration, in the same manner as if the deceased had died seized thereof, upon obtaining a license therefor from the probate court, in the manner provided by law.

§ 14. Disposition of such land, if not sold. If any land held by an executor or administrator, as mentioned in the preceding section, is not sold by him, as therein provided, it shall be assigned and distributed to the same persons, and in the same proportions, as if it had been part of the personal estate of the deceased; and if, upon such distribution, the estate shall come to two or more persons, partition thereof may be made between them, in like manner as if it was real estate which the deceased held in his lifetime.

$ 15. Recovery of property conveyed in fraud of creditors. When there is a deficiency of assets in lands of an executor or administrator, and when the deceased in his lifetime, has conveyed any real estate, or any right or interest therein, with the intent to defraud his creditors, or to avoid any right, debt or duty of any person, or has so conveyed such estate that by law the deeds or conveyances are void as against creditors, the executor or administrator shall commence, and prosecute to final judgment, an action for the recovery of the same, and may recover, for the benefit of the creditors, all such real estate so fraudulently conveyed; and may also, for the benefit of such creditors, sue and recover for all goods, chattels, rights or credits which may have been so fraudulently conveyed by the deceased in his lifetime.

16. Same-application of creditors-security for costs. No executor or administrator is bound to commence such action, unless on application of creditors of the deceased, nor unless the creditors making the application pay such part of the costs and expenses, or give such security to the executor or administrator therefor, as the probate court deems equitable.

§ 17. Same-disposal of recovered property. All real estate recovered, as provided in the fifteenth section of this chapter, shall be sold for the payment of debts, in the same manner as if the deceased had died seized thereof, upon obtaining a license therefor from the probate court; and the proceeds of all goods, chattels, rights and credits, recovered as aforesaid, shall be appropriated in payment of the debts of the deceased, in the same manner as other assets in the hands of the executor or administrator.