Beard v. Federy was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court ruled that an executor of a will had no authority to pay debts from the estate before distributing it among heirs, even if those debts were due and owing at the time of death. The court held that such payments could only be made after all other claims against the estate had been satisfied, including any legacies or devises specified by the testator in his will. This decision established precedent for how estates should be handled when there are multiple creditors with competing interests in them. It also clarified that debtors cannot use their own discretion to prioritize certain creditors over others without explicit instructions from either state law or from within the terms of a decedent's last will and testament.

In Beard v. Federy, the Supreme Court was asked to determine whether a state court had jurisdiction over an action brought by a citizen of another state against a resident of the forum state. The majority opinion held that it did not have such jurisdiction and dismissed the case. In his dissenting opinion, Justice Field argued that under Article III Section 2 of the Constitution, Congress has given federal courts exclusive original jurisdiction in cases where citizens from different states are involved; however, this does not mean that no other court can hear such cases. He further stated that when Congress has granted concurrent or supplemental jurisdiction to any other court for these types of cases then those courts should be allowed to exercise their authority as well. Furthermore, he noted that while there is some ambiguity in how much power states have with regards to diversity suits between citizens from different states, it is clear they do possess at least some degree of authority which should be respected and upheld by all parties involved in this dispute.