In re Estate of Thompson

The majority holds that the assets of a revocable trust should be included in a decedent’s estate for the purpose of calculating the |2nelective spousal share. Because this holding is contrary to established Arkansas probate law and will thwart the use of many traditional estate-planning tools, I respectfully dissent.

Dower in personalty is a creature of statute because, at common law, it attached only to real estate. Stull v. Graham, 60 Ark. 461, 476, 31 S.W. 46, 50 (1895). Statutes in derogation of the rules of the common law are strictly construed. Wright v. Wright, 248 Ark. 105, 108, 449…