Foster v. Ela
Supreme Court of New Hampshire
Appeal, by George W. Ela, from a decree of the probate court-on the settlement of his account as administrator of the ‘estate of Joseph Ela. Facts found by a referee. Joseph Ela died intestate in 1861, and in 1868 administration on his estate was taken out by George W. Ela in Merrimack county. In 1891, he was cited to settle his account as administrator, and upon this citation a decree was made by the probate court in August, 1892, from which he appealed.
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Appeal, by George W. Ela, from a decree of the probate court-on the settlement of his account as administrator of the ‘estate of Joseph Ela. Facts found by a referee. Joseph Ela died intestate in 1861, and in 1868 administration on his estate was taken out by George W. Ela in Merrimack county. In 1891, he was cited to settle his account as administrator, and upon this citation a decree was made by the probate court in August, 1892, from which he appealed. George "W. Ela died in 1898, and April 11, 1893, administration on his estate was taken out by his nest of kin and only heir, Robert L.…
1Opinion of the Court
‘Wallace, J.
The question presented is whether Eichard Ela was a competent witness. By our statute, when one party to a cause is an executor or administrator the adverse party is not allowed to testify to facts which occurred in the lifetime of the deceased, unless the executor or administrator elects to testily. P. S., c. 224, ss. 16-18. The reason and object of the statute is to put both parties upon an equal footing and to prevent the injustice of allowing the survivor to give his uncontradicted and unexplained account of transactions about which the deceased, if living, might testify.…
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