Wilson v. Codman's Executor was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1805. The dispute concerned whether or not an executor of a will had to pay debts that were incurred before the death of the testator, but after they made their will. In this particular case, William Wilson brought suit against Thomas Codman’s executor for payment on two notes he held from Thomas prior to his death and which had been assigned to him by another creditor who could no longer collect them due to Thomas' passing away without paying them off first. The court ultimately ruled in favor of Wilson, holding that an executor is liable for all just debts owed at any time during the life of the deceased person regardless if it was before or after they wrote their last will and testament. This ruling established precedent regarding debt collection from estates and remains relevant today as many states still follow similar rules when dealing with estate matters involving unpaid debt obligations

In Wilson v. Codman's Executor, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a state court had jurisdiction over an action brought by a citizen of another state against an executor of a will in the first state. The majority opinion held that it did not have such jurisdiction and dismissed the case. However, Justice Samuel Chase dissented from this decision on two grounds: firstly, he argued that since there were no federal laws governing this matter then it should be left up to each individual state to determine its own rules; secondly, he contended that if Congress intended for states not to have jurisdiction over citizens from other states then they would have passed legislation explicitly stating so. He concluded his dissent by noting that while he agreed with the majority opinion in principle, their interpretation of existing law was too restrictive and thus unjustified under current statutes.