Murphy v. Superior Court of Santa Clara County

This is an application in this court for a writ of prohibition. Petitioner was, by a deed from his brother, John Murphy, made a trustee of certain property, belonging to the latter, for the benefit of his, the brother’s, children. The deed also contained this clause: “I hereby also order, decree, and appoint my said brother, Bernard, as the lawful guardian for the purpose of support, tuition, and religious training of my two sons, above named. I also enjoin on him the duty of having them educated at the Santa Clara College, situate in the county of Santa Clara, and state aforesaid, and that the ages I wish them to enter shall be not more than twelve years respectively. I also desire my good and kind sister-in-law, Isabel Hanna, to exercise a control, in connection with my brother, Bernard, over my two sons, William Patrick and Henry Bernard.”

The petitioner filed no bond as such guardian, but subsequently applied to the superior court of Santa Clara County for letters of guardianship, for the reason, as alleged in his petition, that the insurance company refused to pay an amount due them on a policy of insurance on the life of their father, who had since died, without the…