Purce v. Patterson

OPINION BY Senior Justice ELIZABETH B. LACY.

In this appeal, Marrill W. Purce asks us to reverse the judgment of the trial court holding that he willfully abandoned his wife, Dorothy M. Purce, who died on January 19, 2005, and therefore, under Code § 64.1-16.3, was not entitled to an elective share of her augmented estate.

FACTS

We recite the facts based on a written statement of facts signed by the trial court. Dorothy and Marrill were married in July 1988. Dorothy had many health problems throughout the marriage and, while the couple lived together, friends and neighbors often took Dorothy to…