ADMINISTRATION, in general, the management of any business; especially ex ecutive government. In public affairs it refers to the actions of the government in exercising its authority agreeable to the constitution of the nation. The word is applied more com monly to the collective body of governmental officers exercising authority as an executive Dower. In a narrow sense it is used in Amer ica, in national politics, to designate the Presi dent and his cabinet, in State politics to desig nate the governor and his executive officers, or in municipal politics the mayor and heads of departments. In England the administration consists of the Premier and his cabinet, who hold office while their party has a legislative majority in the House of Commons.
In law the management of the personal es tate of anyone dying intestate or without an executor. If the deceased leaves real estate, the estate devolves upon heirs related by blood; if personal property is left and no ex ecutors named, administrators are appointed. In the United States a surrogate or judge of probate appoints the administrator and grants letters of administration. The adminis trator is a trustee within the jurisdiction of a court of equity as well as of a court of pro bate. His duties are to inventory the estate, collect accounts due, pay all debts, and dis tribute the remainder among those entitled to it. In England the power of such appointment was vested in the ecclesiastical courts until 1857, when it was transferred to a court of probate. The personal property of.a decedent is appropriated to the payment of his debts so far as required, and until exhausted must first be resorted to by creditors; but by certain statutes, courts may grant an administrator power to sell, lease or mortgage real estate when the personal estate of the deceased is not sufficient to pay his debts. At common law the real estate of an intestate goes to his heirs; the personal to his administrator. The fundamental rule is that all just debts shall be paid before any further disposition of the property.
Ancillary which is subordinate to the principal administration, for collecting the assets of foreigners. It is taken out in the country where the assets are locally situate.
Of The term is applied broadly to denote the management of an estate by an executor, and also the management of the es tates of minors, lunatics, etc., in those cases where trustees have been appointed by au thority of law to take charge of such estates in place of the legal owners.
Foreign That which is exercised by virtue of authority properly con ferred by a foreign power. In England and in.the United States the general rule is that letters granted abroad give no authority to sue or to be sued in another jurisdiction, though they may be ground for new probate authority. Consequently, when persons are
domiciled and die in one country, as A, and have personal property in another, as B, the authority must be had in B, but exercised ac cording to the laws of A. (Story, Confl. Laws, 23, 447). There is no legal priority between administrators in different States. The prin cipal administrator is to act in the intestate's domicile, and the ancillary is to collect claims and pay debts in the foreign jurisdiction and pay over the surplus to his principal. (2 Metc. (Mass.) 114; 3 Day, 74). But some courts hold that the probate of a will in a foreign state, if duly authenticated, dispenses with the necessity of taking out new letters in their State. So it has been held that possession of property may be taken in a foreign state, but a suit cannot be brought without taking out letters in that State.
Public That which the public administrator performs. This happens in many of the States by statute in those cases where persons die intestate, without leaving anyone who is entitled to apply for letters of administration.
Jurisdiction over administrations is in Eng land lodged in the ecclesiastical courts, and these courts delegate the power of administer ing by letters of administration. In the United States administration is a subject charged upon courts of civil jurisdiction. A perplexing mul tiplicity of statutes defines the powers of such courts in the various States of the Union. The public officer authorized to delegate the trust is called surrogate, judge of probate, registrar of wills, etc. As to surrogate courts and pro ceedings therein in the State of New York, consult the Code of Civil Procedure (Chase's ed. 1902, ch. 18). The death of the intestate must have taken place or the court will have no jurisdiction. A decree of the court is prima facie evidence of his death and puts the bur den of disproof upon the party pleading in abatement. (26 Barb. 383.) The formalities and requisites in regard to valid appointments, and rules as to notice, defective proceedings, etc., are different in the various States.
Consult Goodnow, 'Principles of the Ad ministrative Law of the United States' (New York 1905); id., 'Comparative Administrative Law> (New York 1893); Fairlie, 'The Na tional Administration of the United States' (1905) ; Freund,