Distribution of SECTION 1668. Decree to be made only after notice. 1669. No distribution to be ordered till all taxes on personal property are paid. 1665. (§ 258.) Upon the final settlement of the estate, how accounts of the executor or administrator, or at any made and to whom. What the decree must contain, subsequent time, upon the application of the executor or administrator, or of any heir, legatee, or devisee, the Court must proceed to distribute the residue of the estate in the hands of the executor or administrator, if any, among the persons who by law are entitled thereto; and if the decedent has left a surviving child, and the issue of other children, and any of them, before the close of administration, have died while under age and not having been married, no administration on such deceased child's estate is necessary, but all the estate which such deceased child was entitled to by inheritance must, without administration, be distributed to the other heirs at law. A statement of any receipts and disbursements of the executor or administrator, since the rendition of his final accounts, must be reported and filed at the time of making such distribution, and a settlement thereof, together with an estimate of the expenses of closing the estate, must be made by the Court and included in the order or decree; or the Court or Judge may order notice of the settlement of such supplementary account, and refer the same as in other cases of the settlement of accounts. 1666. (§ 259.) In the order or decree, the Court must name the persons and the proportions or parts to and is final. which each shall be entitled, and such persons may demand, sue for, and recover their respective shares from the executor or administrator, or any person having the same in possession. Such order or decree is conclusive as to the rights of heirs, legatees, or devisees, subject only to be reversed, set aside, or modified on appeal. tion when decedent resident of was not a this State. 1667. (§ 259.) Upon application for distribution, Distribuafter final settlement of the accounts of administration, if the decedent was a non-resident of this State, leaving a will which has been duly proved or allowed in the State of his residence, and an authenticated copy thereof has been admitted to probate in this State, and it is necessary, in order that the estate or any part thereof may be distributed according to the will, that the estate in this State should be delivered to the executor or administrator in the State or place of his residence, the Court may order such delivery to be made, and, if necessary, order a sale of the real estate, and a like delivery of the proceeds. The delivery, in accordance with the order of the Court, is a full discharge of the executor or administrator with the will annexed, in this State, in relation to all property embraced in such order, which, unless reversed on appeal, binds and concludes all parties in interest. Sales of real estate ordered by virtue of this section must be made in the same manner as other sales of real estate of decedents by order of the Probate Court. 1668. (§ 260.) The order or decree may be made on the petition of the executor or administrator, or of any person interested in the estate, but notice must be given, or waived, unless distribution is made, or the time for making it is fixed by order of the Court at the time of the settlement of the final account. All proceedings not so waived or dispensed with, must be had in the manner provided in Article IV, Chapter VII, of this Title, for sale of real estate by an executor or administrator. The Court may order such further notice to be given as it may deem proper. If partition is applied for, as provided in this Chapter, such decree shall not divest the Court of jurisdiction for the purposes of partition, unless the estate is finally closed. Decree to be made only after notice. No distri bution to be all taxes on 1669. (§ 260.) Before any decree of distribution ordered till of an estate is made, the Probate Court must be satisfied, by the oath of the executor or administrator, or otherwise, that all State, county, and municipal taxes, legally levied upon personal property of the estate, have been fully paid. Estate in common. Commissioners. ARTICLE III. DISTRIBUTION AND PARTITION. SECTION 1675. Estate in common. Commissioners. 1676. Partition and notice thereof, and the time of filing petition. 1677. Estate in different counties, how divided. 1678. Partition may be made although some of the heirs, etc., have parted with their interest. 1679. Shares to be set out by metes and bounds. 1680. Whole estate may be assigned to one, in certain cases. 1681. Payments for equality of partition, by whom and how. 1682. Estate may be sold. 1683. To give notice to all persons and guardians before partition. Duties of Commissioners. 1684. To make report, and partition to be recorded. 1685. When Commissioners to make partition are not neces sary. 1686. Advancements made to heirs. 1675. (§ 261.) When the estate, real or personal, assigned by the decree of distribution to two or more heirs, devisees, or legatees, is in common and undivided, and the respective shares are not separated and distinguished, partition, or distribution, may be made by three disinterested persons, to be appointed Commissioners for that purpose by the Probate Court or Judge, who must be duly sworn to the faithful discharge of their duties. A certified copy of the order of their appointment, and of the order or decree assigning and distributing the estate, must be issued to them as their warrant, and their oath must be indorsed thereon. Upon consent of the parties, or when the Court deems it proper and just, it is suf ficient to appoint one Commissioner only, who has the same authority and is governed by the same rules as if three were appointed. and notice and the time of petition. 1676. (§ 263.) Such partition may be ordered and Partition had in the Probate Court, on the petition of any per- thereof, son interested. But before Commissioners are appointed, or partition ordered by the Probate Court as directed in this Chapter, notice thereof must be given to all persons interested, who reside in this State, or to their guardians, and to the agents, attorneys, or guardians, if any in this State, of such as reside out of the State, either personally or by public notice, as the Probate Court may direct. The petition may be filed, attorneys, guardians, and agents appointed, and notice given, at any time before the order or decree of distribution, but the Commissioners must not be appointed until the order or decree is made distributing the estate. different how 1677. (§ 262.) If the real estate is in different Estate in counties, the Probate Court may, if deemed proper, counties, appoint a Commissioner for all, or different Commis- divided. sioners for each county. The estate in each county must be divided separately among the heirs, devisees, or legatees, as if there was no other estate to be divided, but the Commissioner first appointed must, unless otherwise directed by the Probate Court, make division of such real estate, wherever situated within this State. may be 1678. (§ 264.) Partition or distribution of the Partition real estate may be made as provided in this Chapter, made, although some of the original heirs, legatees, or devi although some of the heirs, etc., have sees may have conveyed their shares to other persons, parted and such shares must be assigned to the person holding interest. the same, in the same manner as they otherwise would have been to such heirs, legatees, or devisees. with their Shares to be set out by metes and bounds Whole estate may to one, in certain cases. 1679. (§ 265.) When both distribution and partition are made, the several shares in the real and personal estate must be set out to each individual in proportion to his right, by metes and bounds, or description, so that the same can be easily distinguished, unless two or more of the parties interested consent to have their shares set out so as to be held by them in common and undivided. 1680. (§ 266.) When the real estate cannot be be assigned divided without prejudice or inconvenience to the owners, the Probate Court may assign the whole to one or more of the parties entitled to share therein who will accept it, always preferring the males to the females, and among children preferring the elder to the younger. The parties accepting the whole must pay to the other parties interested their just proportion of the true value thereof, or secure the same to their satisfaction, or, in case of the minority of such party, then to the satisfaction of his guardian, and the true value of the estate must be ascertained and reported by the Commissioners. When the Commissioners appointed to make partition are of the opinion that the real estate cannot be divided without prejudice or inconvenience to the owners, they must so report to the Court, and recommend that the whole be assigned as herein provided, and must find and report the true value of such real estate. On filing the report of the Commissioners, and on making or securing the payment as before provided, the Court, if it appears just and proper, must confirm the report, and thereupon the assignment is complete, and the title to the whole of such real estate vests in the person to whom the same is so assigned. Payments for equality of partition, by whom and how. 1681. (§ 267.) When any tract of land or tenement is of greater value than any one's share in the estate to be divided, and cannot be divided without |