This case involves a dispute between several heirs of the estate of Peter Williams and the administrator of the estate. The administrator petitioned the probate court to sell a tract of land belonging to the estate. The probate court approved the sale over the objection of several heirs. The objecting heirs appealed the probate court’s decision to the superior court.1 The superior court denied the objecting heirs’ motion for summary judgment,2 and granted summary judgment to the administrator on his cross-motion. The objecting heirs appeal, and we affirm because the administrator was entitled to sell the land for distribution and there are no material facts in dispute that would alter this conclusion. To prevail on summary judgment, “the moving party must demonstrate that there are no genuine issues of any material fact and that the undisputed facts, viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, support judgment as a matter of law.”3 “Our review is de novo. Cit.”4
Peter Williams died intestate on November 17, 1955. He was survived by his wife and 11 children, all of whom are now deceased. The estate remained without an administrator for the next 38 years. Adolphus Williams, Jr., one of many surviving heirs, was appointed temporary administrator of the estate on September 10, 1993 to litigate a third party’s attempt to foreclose a deed to secure debt on a portion of the estate’s land. After that litigation was resolved in the estate’s favor, he was appointed permanent administrator without objection on June 3, 1996. As administrator, he filed a petition with the probate court on April 9, 2001 for leave to sell an approximately 100-acre tract of land for distribution.5 The petition listed over 50 surviving heirs-at-law to the estate.
