Executive Order 1468

By virtue of the authority invested in me, I hereby establish the following Executive Order for the Canal Zone:

Section 1.^[1] Whenever an employe in the service of the Isthmian Canal Commission, or the Government of the Canal Zone, or of the Panama Railroad Company; shall die, leaving an estate in the said Zone, or whenever such decedent, being a citizen of the United States, leaves an estate in the Canal Zone or in the Republic of Panama; and the said estate consists of personal property only, not exceeding in value the sum of $1,000.00, and a regular administration shall not have been instituted in the courts of the Canal Zone, the Collector of Revenues for the Canal Zone is hereby authorized and directed to take possession of the estate of the said deceased person and to make a complete inventory thereof and present the same to the Judge of the Circuit Court of the First Judicial Circuit of the Canal Zone, to be filed by the said judge in the records of his court when approved by him.

Sec. 2. The Collector of Revenues, with the approval of the Judge of the Circuit Court of the First Judicial Circuit, out of the assets of the estate, may pay the burial expenses of the said deceased person and all expenses necessarily incurred in securing possession of the estate and of administering the same until it is turned over to the heirs or other parties entitled thereto, and he may also pay the expenses of the transportation of the remains of the decedent to the United States, if he is an American Citizen and such transportation is desired by the surviving relatives. He shall also pay the lawful debts of the deceased, with the approval of the Circuit Judge.

Sec. 3. In case the deceased shall have to his credit with the Isthmian Canal Commission, the Government of the Canal Zone, or the Panama Railroad Company, any sum as salary or other acknowledged claim, the amount so due shall be paid to the Collector of Revenues and be by him administered as a part of said estate in the manner prescribed by this Order; Provided, that if there should be a regular administration upon the estate of the deceased in a court of competent jurisdiction of the Canal Zone, then the sum due to the deceased shall be paid to the regular executor or administrator of the estate appointed by said court.

Sec. 4. After all of the expenses connected with the burial of the deceased person and in securing possession of the estate and in otherwise administering the same, together with the lawful debts of the deceased, have been fully paid, the balance of such estate shall be paid by the Collector of Revenues to the parties entitled to receive such estate; but before making such payment, the approval of the Judge of the Circuit Court must be obtained.

Sec. 5. If the deceased employee is an alien and has no heirs in the Canal Zone, the Collector of Revenues is hereby authorized and directed to deliver the residue of the decedent's estate to the diplomatic or consular representative of the country of which the decedent was a citizen or subject accredited to the Republic of Panama, to be delivered by such representative to the heirs of the decedent; if the deceased is a citizen of Panama, the residue of the estate may be delivered to his heirs in Panama, or to the authorities designated for that purpose by the Panamanian laws or decrees.

Sec. 6. After the estate has been fully administered by the Collector of Revenues and the residue thereof has been turned over to the parties entitled to the same according to this Order, the Collector of Revenues shall file a final report of his acts and doings in the estate with the Judge of the Circuit Court, and accompany said report with the proper vouchers and other supporting papers, showing the receipts and disbursements made by him in administering the estate, and the Circuit Judge shall examine said report, and if he finds it correct, he shall approve the same and discharge the Collector of Revenues as such administrator.

Sec. 7. If the decedent should leave a widow, or minor children, or dependent relative in necessitous circumstances to be determined by the Circuit Judge, the residue of the estate of the decedent, after all of the funeral expenses, the expenses of transportation of the remains of the deceased to the United States, if the remains are transported, and the other expenses incident to the administration of the estate are fully paid, shall be delivered to said widow, or minor children, or dependent relative, as the case may be, for their maintenance and support; and, except as in this section otherwise provided, the claims of the widow, minor children, or dependent relative of the deceased for this allowance shall be superior to the claims of the creditors of the deceased, Provided, that such preference in favor of the widow, minor children, or dependent relative shall not exceed $500.00.

Sec. 8.^[1] If an employee of the Isthmian Canal Commission, the Government of the Canal Zone, or the Panama Railroad Company should be adjudged insane by the Canal Zone Courts and have an estate not exceeding $1,000.00 in value and consisting entirely of personal property, and no regular guardianship of such estate shall have been instituted in the Canal Zone Courts, it shall be the duty of the Collector of Revenues to take possession of the estate of such insane person, including any salary or other acknowledged claim due to such employee by the Isthmian Canal Commission, the Canal Zone Government, or the Panama Railroad Company, and make a complete inventory thereof and file the same with the Judge of the Circuit Court of the First Judicial Circuit of the Canal Zone; and under the direction and with the approval of the Judge of the said Court, the Collector of Revenues may pay the lawful indebtedness due by the insane person, as well as the expenses incurred in administering said estate, and he shall hold the residue of the estate subject to the orders of the Circuit Judge.

If the insane person has a wife, minor child or children, or dependent relative, in necessitous circumstances, to be determined by the Circuit Judge, the court shall set aside a sufficient sum out of the said estate for their maintenance and support, not to exceed the sum of $500.00 in the aggregate, to be paid in such manner and at such times as the Circuit Judge may prescribe, and which allowance shall be superior to all other claims against the estate; and the order of the Judge shall be sufficient authority for the Collector of Revenues to make such payment, taking proper receipts therefor.

In case the insane person is a citizen of the United States and has no wife, child or children, or dependent relative, the Collector of Revenues shall retain possession of the residue of said estate, after the debts and other charges have been paid as above mentioned, and hold same subject to the orders of the court.

If the insane person is a Panamanian and has no wife, child or children, or dependent relative, the residue of the estate, with the approval of the Circuit Judge, may be delivered by the Collector of Revenues to the authorities designated for that purpose by the Panamanian laws or decrees.

If the insane person is an alien, other than a Panamanian, and has no wife, child or children, or dependent relative, the Collector of Revenues, with the approval of the Judge of the Circuit Court, shall pay over the residue of the said estate to the diplomatic or consular representative of the country to which the insane person belongs accredited to the Republic of Panama, to be disposed of by him in accordance with the laws of his country.

Sec. 9. When the estate of the insane person is finally administered and the moneys paid over to the person or persons entitled to receive same as herein provided for, the Collector of Revenues shall make his final report on said estate to the Judge of the Circuit Court, and the Court shall approve the same, if found to be correct, and discharge the Collector of Revenues from such guardianship.

Sec. 10. When the Collector of Revenues shall have performed his duties in accordance with the provisions of this Order and shall have delivered the estate or paid over the sums due from the funds of said estate to the person or persons entitled thereto in accordance with the orders of the court, such settlement of the estate shall be deemed a lawful settlement thereof, and the Collector of Revenues shall not be accountable on his bond and shall not be liable to any other person for the estate so administered by him; Provided, that nothing in this Order shall prohibit the lawful heirs or claimants of any person whose estate has been settled in accordance with the provisions of this Order from bringing suit in any court having jurisdiction of the subject-matter and of the parties to the action against the person or persons who received the estate by virtue of the provisions of this act, and from recovering the same or the value thereof from such person or persons upon proof that the estate has been delivered to the persons not entitled to receive and retain same.

Sec. 11. This Order shall apply to the estate of persons who died or became insane prior to the passage of this Order, as well as to those who die or become insane after the date of its promulgation.

Sec. 12. If the Collector of Revenues shall deem it to the best interest of the estate of the deceased or insane person to convert any part or all of the property of the estate into cash, he may dispose of the same by public or private sale, with the approval of the Circuit Judge.

Sec. 13. The proceedings to be had before the Judge of the Circuit Court as herein provided for may be conducted without the necessity of any prior notice being given of the same, either by publication or otherwise; and the judge may proceed in such cases in open court or in chambers, and shall give precedence to such matters over all other business pending before him, in order that the estates may be administered and closed as expeditiously as the rights of all parties concerned may permit. No court costs of any kind shall be taxed against estates administered under the provisions of this Order.

Sec. 14. The official bond of the Collector of Revenues shall be security for the moneys and properties received by him in the performance of the duties prescribed for him by this Order.

Sec. 15. Act 24, of the Canal Zone Laws, entitled "An Act providing for an inexpensive method of Administration upon the Estates of Employees of the Government of the Canal Zone, or of the Isthmian Canal Commission, who are citizens of the United States and who die in the Canal Zone, Isthmus of Panama, leaving estates of small value upon which regular administration is deemed inadvisable," enacted March 1, 1905, and Executive Order dated June 22, 1907, effective July 1, 1907, and Executive Order dated July 21, 1909, respectively, amendatory of said Act 24, and all laws in conflict herewith, are hereby repealed.

Sec. 16. This Order shall take effect 30 days from and after this date.

Wm. H. Taft.

The White House,

February 5, 1912.

Notes

1. Amended by Executive Order 1751.