In Cooke v. Graham's Administrator, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that a creditor could not sue an executor for payment of a debt owed by the deceased debtor unless it was specifically mentioned in their will. The case involved William Cooke who had loaned money to John Graham prior to his death and sought repayment from his estate through its administrator, Robert Anderson. Anderson argued that he should not be held liable for any debts incurred before Graham’s death as they were not included in his will or otherwise specified as part of his estate. The court agreed with this argument and determined that creditors cannot seek payment from an executor if there is no mention of such debt in the decedent’s will or other documents related to their estate plan. This ruling established precedent which has been followed since then when dealing with similar cases involving creditors seeking repayment from estates after someone dies without specifying those debts within their last wishes.

In Cooke v. Graham's Administrator, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a state court had jurisdiction over a case involving an officer of the United States Navy who died in service and whose estate was being administered by his widow. The majority opinion held that the state court did not have jurisdiction because it would be contrary to federal law for any other tribunal than Congress or its delegatees to exercise authority over such matters. Justice Paterson dissented from this decision, arguing that there is no express provision in either the Constitution or statutes which prohibits states from exercising their ordinary judicial powers with respect to cases arising out of naval officers' estates. He further argued that if Congress intended otherwise, they should have made it clear through legislation rather than leaving it up to interpretation by courts.