regardless of the amount allowed by the probate court. It follows, therefore, that an allowance made to him for attorneys' fees is not conclusive on the attorneys: Estate of Scott, 1 Cal. App. 740; 83 Pac. Rep. 85; and an adjudication by the court as to the amount which an attorney should receive as an attorney's fee cannot be pleaded in bar of any right of action which the attorney may have on any contract made by him with the executor or administrator as an individual: Sullivan v. Lusk (Cal. App.), 94 Pac. Rep. 91, 92. If the agreement was that the attorney should receive from the executor or administrator a certain specified sum for his services, the executor or administrator would be personally answerable for that sum, regardless of what the court in probate might allow the executor or administrator; and if the agreement was simply that the attorney should receive from the executor or administrator what his services were reasonably worth, he could recover from the executor, by personal action against him, the sum adjudged therein to be the reasonable value of his services, regardless of the adjudication of the court in probate as to what constituted such reasonable value: Estate of Kruger, 143 Cal. 141, 146; 76 Pac. Rep. 891; Briggs v. Breen, 123 Cal. 657; 56 Pac. Rep. 633, 886. In an action to recover the reasonable value of services rendered to co-executors jointly by an attorney, an executor may be joined with the administrator of a deceased executor, but the recovery of the latter is limited to payment in due course of administration: Briggs v. Breen, 123 Cal. 657, 662; 56 Pac. Rep. 633, 886. If each of two administrators have severally employed attorneys, and the powers of one of them is suspended after the settlement of his accounts, and the fees of an attorney had been paid by the administrator who employed him, such fee cannot be again recovered, although it had been fixed in the decree settling the final account. Credit, in the account, for the sum so allowed does not constitute a judgment or adjudication in favor of the attorney against either the estate or the executor, and cannot be made the foundation of an action by him against either. The decree only fixes the allowance of an attorney's fee as an expense of administration, and it could be allowed in the decree after it was paid as well as before: McKee v. Soher, 138 Cal. 367, 371; 71 Pac. Rep. 438, 649. There is a distinction between a bill of particulars for an attorney's services, and bills of particulars of accounts generally, and where the statement, as rendered by an attorney, informs the defendant fully of the character of the services, the manner in which they were rendered, the transaction out of which the services arose, and the aggregate value of the whole, nothing more should be required. He should not be held to that degree of strictness which would be necessary in a statement of merchandise sold and delivered. Where the retainer is general, and the attorney advises his client, or performs services in a number of distinct matters, he may properly be required to set out his charge for each separate matter; but, when the services

all relate to one subject, it forms no just measure of the services to separate the services into parts, and to have the attorney state what charge he makes for each separate part. The only correct method is to view the service as a whole, since, by no other method, can one of its most important elements, namely, the result of the service to the client, be taken into account in estimating the value of the services: Moore v. Scharnikow (Wash.), 94 Pac. Rep. 117, 120. Upon an application to the court to fix the amount of compensation for the services of an attorney for the executor or administrator, the court has power to do full and complete justice between the parties, and to consider any damage that may have been occasioned by the negligence of the attorney in the conduct of litigation on behalf of the estate: Estate of Kruger, 123 Cal. 391; 55 Pac. Rep. 1056. In an action in equity for an accounting against the executor of a deceased administrator the court may, where it has jurisdiction both in equity and in matters of probate, determine the amount due the attorney of the deceased administrator: Pennie v. Roach, 94 Cal. 515, 521; 29 Pac. Rep. 956; 30 Pac. Rep. 106.

13. Recovery of more than amount allowed. Although the court allows the executor or administrator an amount which it deems reasonable for the fees of his attorney, such allowance, in the absence of agreement, is not binding upon the attorney, and he may recover more than the amount allowed, provided the allowance was not reasonable: McKee v. Soher, 138 Cal. 367, 370; 71 Pac. Rep. 438, 649; Estate of Scott, 1 Cal. App. 740, 747; 83 Pac. Rep. 85.

14. Appeal. An order allowing an attorney's fee to the attorney of an executor or administrator is an appealable order: Estate of Kruger, 123 Cal. 391, 392; 55 Pac. Rep. 1056. The order made upon an application by an attorney for compensation on account of extraordinary services rendered by him is an appealable order: Estate of Riviere (Cal. App.), 96 Pac. Rep. 16, 17. The order directing the administrator of an estate to pay the demand of an attorney for services rendered to the administrator during the progress of the settlement of the estate, while not technically a "claim " against the estate, is appealable: Stuttmeister v. Superior Court, 72 Cal. 487; 14 Pac. Rep. 35. Any person interested in the estate of a decedent has the right to appeal from an order allowing, out of the assets of the estate, compensation to an attorney on account of extraordinary services rendered by him for the benefit of the estate: Estate of Riviere (Cal. App.), 96 Pac. Rep. 16, 17. The discretion of the court below in allowing an attorney's fee to an executor or administrator of an estate will not be disturbed on appeal, in the absence of any showing that such discretion has been abused; as, where the allowance made is less than the estimate of any expert witness who testified, and was consented to by the

attorney for the sole heir interested in the estate: Freese v. Pennie, 110 Cal. 467, 470; 42 Pac. Rep. 978; Estate of Adams, 131 Cal. 415; 63 Pac. Rep. 838; or where there is conflicting evidence as to the value of the services rendered to the estate by the attorneys and the amount allowed by the court finds support in the evidence: In re Levinson, 108 Cal. 450, 457; 41 Pac. Rep. 483; 42 Pac. Rep. 479; or where the court has exercised a discretion in apportioning the allowance of counsel fees between joint administrators: Estate of Dudley, 123 Cal. 256, 257; 55 Pac. Rep. 897. The amount fixed by the court as counsel fees for an executor or administrator will not be disturbed, where no abuse of discretion is shown: Estate of Gasq., 42 Cal. 288, 290. Upon the reversal of an order appointing an administrator, such person is not entitled to the payment of an attorney's fee and costs expended by him in making the contest: Estate of Barton, 55 Cal. 87, 90. As the court has no jurisdiction of an appeal taken by an attorney from a decree settling the executor's final account, such appeal will be dismissed: Estate of Kruger, 143 Cal. 141, 147; 76 Pac. Rep. 891. So trustees appointed under a will, who have sued to obtain, for their direction, a construction of certain clauses therein, are not aggrieved by an order allowing the attorney and guardian ad litem for the minor heirs a fee for his services, to be paid by the trustees out of the estate, and their appeal from such order will be dismissed: Goldtree v. Thompson, 83 Cal. 420, 422; 23 Pac. Rep. 383. Where the evidence is not set forth in the record upon appeal, error in the allowance of an attorney's fee is not to be presumed, and, in the absence of evidence, the court cannot say that the lower court erred in refusing to allow the expenditure as a charge against the estate: Estate of Scott, 1 Cal. App. 740, 743; 83 Pac. Rep. 85. It is harmless error for the judgment allowing an attorney's fee to direct that the administrator pay out of the estate to the defendant in the action "for the use and benefit of an attorney," or to "said attorney in person," as payment is not required to be made to the attorney in person. Any invalidity or error in specifying such alternative in the judgment may therefore be disregarded: Pennie v. Roach, 94 Cal. 515, 519; 29 Pac. Rep. 956; 30 Pac. Rep. 106. Where a case has been appealed by an administrator, his commissions definitely fixed, and the case remanded, the judge below is not authorized to allow a fee to the attorney for the legatees, and to make the same a charge against the administrator's commissions: Estate of Alina, 13 Haw. 630, 631.

CHAPTER II.

ACCOUNTING AND SETTLEMENTS BY EXECUTORS AND ADMINISTRATORS.

§ 656. To render an exhibit.

Form. Exhibit for information of court.

§ 657.

§ 661.

Petition for order to render exhibit.

Order requiring administrator to render exhibit.

Objections to account.

Revocation of letters.

Attachment for not obeying citation.

§ 662. Accounting within thirty days after time for notice to cred

itors has expired.

§ 663. Form. Account current and report of executor or adminis

trator.

Form. Petition for order requiring administrator to render an

account.

Form. Order for citation to administrator to render account.
Form. Order to account on failure to show cause.
Form. Attachment to compel rendering of account.
Executor to account after his authority is revoked.
Authority of executor to be revoked when.

§ 665.

§ 666.

§ 667.

§ 668.

§ 669.

§ 670.

§ 671.

§ 672.

To produce and file vouchers, which must remain in court.
Vouchers for items less than twenty dollars.

Form. Order appointing day of settlement of account.

§ 675. Form. Notice of settlement of account.

§ 676.

When settlement is final, notice must so state.

§ 677.

Form. First and final account, report, and petition for distribution.

$ 678. Form. Final account, report, and petition for distribution of

estate following an account current.

§ 679. Form. Final account, report, and petition for distribution. Insolvent estate.

§ 680. Form. Memorandum, by clerk, fixing time for hearing of final account and petition for distribution.

§ 681. Form. Order appointing day for hearing petition for distribution and settlement of final account.

§ 682. Form. Notice of settlement of final account and distribution. § 683. Form. Affidavit of posting notice of settlement of final account and distribution.

§ 684. Form. Order settling final account and for distribution.

§ 685. Form. Another form of order settling final account and for

distribution.

§ 686. Form. Order settling final account, report, and petition for

§ 690.

Form. Order appointing referee of administrator's account and adjourning settlement.

§ 691. Form. Order referring account to court commissioner for examination and report.

§ 692.

§ 693.

Form. Referee's report of examination of account.

Settlement of accounts to be conclusive when, and when not.

§ 694. Proof of notice of settlement of accounts.

§ 695. Form. Affidavit of posting notice of settlement of account.

§ 696. Form. Decree settling account.

§ 697. Presentation of account. Death of representative.