Probate Record for Frances Cleveland (Dodge) Nemetzky - Part II

Here is something I have been hoping to find for a very long time…and I found it this last week. I found the Probate Case for Frances Nemetzky thanks to the Sacramento Legal Press, which is available online at Newspapers.com. This is a newspaper that published legal notices for the Sacramento County Superior Court. My previous post talked about the legal notices that were published.

I received a copy of the Probate Case this week from the Sacramento County Superior Court. Reading through the case, I am surprised by how this case played out, and especially by how this case ended. The link to the copy of the probate case I received is here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Rrv89BNvcTaqEUY7mFjxYvlsKatobOPl/view?usp=drive_link

Frances passed away on October 3, 1955 in Sacramento. Prior to her death, she was living with her sister, Ann (Dodge) Graham in the town of Broderick, a suburb of Sacramento. On October 17, 1955, Ann filed a Petition for Letters of Administration of Frances Nemetzky’s estate. Ann states in her Petition that where was no will, and none had been located, that the estate was valued at approximately $10,000, and that the next of kin and heirs at law were as follows: 

Ann Graham (Sister), residing at 520 5th Street, Broderick, California

Rachel Newitt (Sister), residing at 311 S. 9th St, Tacoma, Washington

William Morgan (Nephew – child of Clara Belle Morgan, deceased sister), residing at Wilkie, Saskatchewan

Mary Morgan McNab (Niece – child of Clara Belle Morgan, deceased sister), residing at Calgary, Alberta

Robert Dodge (Nephew – child of James Dodge, deceased brother), residing at 636 Davis Street, Rawlins, Wyoming

Alfred Dodge (Nephew – child of James Dodge, deceased brother), residing at 636 Davis Street, Rawlins, Wyoming 

As a side note, there was one brother, Dwight H. Dodge, who was still alive and living in Midland, Oregon, but all contact with and from him had been lost at this point for about 35 years. Another side note: William Morgan was living in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan; Alfred Dodge was living in Minot, North Dakota; and Robert Dodge was living in Clearfield, Utah. 

Ann’s Petition was granted on October 27, 1955, and she was appointed as Administratrix of her sister’s estate. The inventory of the estate was taken in early 1956 and consisted of the following: 

Real Property located in Marin County, California; valued at $500.00

Promissory Note dated January 1, 1952 executed by Warren David in the amount of $4,800.00; valued at $100.00

Promissory Note dated July 30, 1952 executed by Warren David in the amount of $6,250.00; valued at $100.00 

A separate case was filed by Ann Graham, as Administratrix of the Estate of Frances Nemetzky, against this Warren Davis. Judgment was entered for the Estate for the total amount of $16,857.84 (this included the principal amounts due, incurred interest, and attorney’s fees). However, there is no indication whether the judgment was ever collected. 

Ann also disclosed that she had paid an inheritance tax in the amount of $872.70 on money she claimed to have received from Frances before her passing. On the Report of Inheritance Tax Appraiser, Ann states the following: ‘That said decedent, prior to her death and in contemplation of her death, transferred to Ann Graham, sister, without valuable or adequate consideration, in money or moneys worth, the following described property and that said transfer was also made in lieu of the passing of said property by will or by the laws of succession: Bank accounts, in the sum of $20,626.42.’ 

The disclosure of this transfer of funds caught the attention of Ann’s sister, Rachel (Dodge) Newitt. In May of 1956, Rachel filed a Petition for Removal of Administratrix. In her petition, Rachel stated that the following were grounds for Ann to be removed as Administratrix: 

1. Rachel was a sister of the decedent, and the decedent did not have any surviving spouse or children.

2. That Ann failed to disclose the following property of the estate, including:

$20,626.42 was property of the decedent at the time of death,

Two diamond rings, valued at $600.00,

United States Savings Bonds, and

Various items of personal property.

3. Rachel states that the $20,626.46 was always the property of Frances and was solely entrusted to Ann for covering expenses of the decedent, and that the remaining balance was to be included in the estate. 

Ann filed her Answer on June 21, 1956, and denied these specific allegations. Trial was initially set for July of 1956. The trial was initially moved back to October of 1956. However, the trial was postposed through the remainder of 1956, and through 1957 and 1958 and into 1959. The last documents in this probate case are dated February 24, 1959, with trail on the Petition for Removal of Administratrix scheduled for April of 1959. This is where the Probate case ends…without any resolution or conclusion as to the Petition for Removal of Administratrix or a final accounting as to how the estate was disbursed. I reached out to the Sacrament County Court to ask if anything may have been missed in their providing the Probate case to me. I am currently waiting for a response. 

There is one part of the Probate case that does have a (partial) resolution. Ann disclosed that there was a parcel of property in Marin County, California that was in Frances’ name. In August of 1957, a Notice of Sale of Real Property was filed with the Court. The sale was held on September 23, 1957, and the property sold for $200. However, it isn’t known how or whether the funds from the sale of the property were disbursed. 

I do know that by 1959, Ann had left California and returned to Colorado Springs, where she had previously lived until 1942. Ann and her husband, Earl Graham, moved to Salt Lake City in 1942, and later to Broderick, California, where some of Earl Graham’s siblings lived. Ann would pass away in Colorado Springs in January of 1961. Rachel passed away in Tacoma in May of 1977.

It is possible (dad mentioned this to me) that the Probate case was resolved out of Court and the hearing ultimately dropped, which would explain why the Probate Case abruptly ends here.