Estate of Paulsen

On September 14, 1917, upon petition regularly filed, the respondent made an order appointing Ingina Ostergard special administratrix of the estate of Bjelka Paulsen, deceased; but at the hearing on the petition no evidence was received of the death of Bjelka Paulsen. This proceeding is instituted for an annulment of the order because of the lack of the evidence mentioned. An administrator of the estate of a person manifestly cannot be appointed until such person is deceased, and the only manner ' in which death can be shown to the court which is asked to appoint is by the production of evidence of death. When a tribunal is clothed with authority or jurisdiction to act only upon the existence of certain facts and it receives no evidence tending to show that such facts exist, its action is void for want of jurisdiction and will be annulled upon proceedings under the writ of review (Great Western Power Co. v. Pillsbury, 170 Cal. 180, 184, 185 , [ 149 Pac. 35 ]), provided, of course, no right of appeal exists in the premises; and no ap peal lies from an order appointing a special administrator (Code Civ. Proc., sec. 1413).

The respondent apparently concedes the invalidity of the…