To obtain an order for the sale of real property, the executor or administrator must present a verified application to the court setting forth that the sale of the real property will be in the best interest of the estate and a general description of all the real property except the homestead of which the decedent died seized, or in which he had any interest, or in which the estate has acquired any interest, and the value thereof; the names of the heirs, legatees and devisees of the decedent, if any, so far as known to the petitioner. If any of the matters here enumerated cannot be ascertained, it must be so stated in the application; but a failure to set forth the facts showing the sale to be supported by good cause will not invalidate the subsequent proceedings, if the defect be supplied by the proofs at the hearing, and the general facts showing such good cause be stated in the decree.
R.L.1910, § 6372; Laws 1978, c. 38, § 2; Laws 1979, c. 258, § 8.