Scroghan v. Landers

MILLIKEN, Judge.

This appeal presents one pivotal question upon which the answers to other questions hinge: The construction of Item Third of the will of W. H. Landers, which is as follows :

“Third: I will to my wife, Mattie Landers, if she be legally my wife at the time of my death, and not otherwise, such portion of my estate as is allowed to her by the laws of Kentucky as if I had died intestate.”

The will was written on February 13, 1953, and Mr. Landers died on January 31, 1958. By reason of the amendment of KRS 392.020 by the 1956 General Assembly, there was a substantial change in the law…