Persons entitled to administer; order of preference

§ 20–334. Persons entitled to administer; order of preference (a) The Probate Court may grant letters of administration of the estate of a person dying intestate to one or more of the following persons, according to the order of preference indicated: (1) where there is a surviving spouse and a child or children, to the surviving spouse or to the child, or one or more of the children qualified to act as administrator; (2) where there is a surviving spouse and no child, the surviving spouse shall be preferred, and, next to the surviving spouse, a grandchild shall be preferred; (3) where there is no surviving spouse, or child, or grandchild to act, the father shall be preferred; and, where there is no father, the mother shall be preferred; (4) where there is no surviving spouse, or child, or grandchild, or father, or mother to act, brothers and sisters shall be preferred; and, where there is no brother or sister, the next of km shall be preferred; (5) males shall be preferred to females in equal degree; (6) relations of the whole blood shall be preferred to those of the half-blood in equal degree; and relations of the half-blood shall be preferred to those of the whole blood in a remoter degree; (7) relations descending shall be preferred to relations ascending, in the collateral line; for example, a nephew shall be preferred to an uncle; (8) a person may not be preferred in the ascending line beyond a father or mother, or in the descending line below a grandchild; (9) a femme sole shall be preferred to a married woman in equal degree; 79 Stat. 707 (10) relations on the part of the father shall be preferred to those on the part of the mother, in equal degree. (b) Where a person described in subsection (a) of this section is incompetent to serve, administration shall be granted as if he or she were not living. (c) Where there are not relations of the intestate, or those entitled to letters of administration decline to appear and apply for them, after proper summons or notice, administration may be granted to the largest creditor applying therefor. When creditors neglect to apply, the court may exercise its discretion in granting administration.