In re Estate of Headen
California Supreme Court
Appeal from the Probate Court, County of Santa Clara. The children of Headen contested the widow’s right to the homestead, and both the widow, Henrietta H. Headen, and the children appealed from the decree.
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Appeal from the Probate Court, County of Santa Clara. The children of Headen contested the widow’s right to the homestead, and both the widow, Henrietta H. Headen, and the children appealed from the decree. Sec. 1265 of the Civil Code, as amended in 1865, provided that the homestead, if declared on community property, should, on the death of either of the spouses, vest in the survivor; but that, in other cases, on the death of the person whose property it was when selected as a homestead, it should go to his or her heirs, subject to the power of the Probate Court to assign the same for a…
1Opinion of the Court
The query now is, “ Are the widow’s rights in the homestead governed by the laws in force when the homestead was created, or by the amended law passed thereafter, but previous to the death of deceased?” The amendment of 1874 does not show on its face that it was intended to operate retrospectively on homesteads already created. It should not, therefore, have a retrospective operation. (Cooley’s Const. Lim. 370, and 33 cases cited; Dewey v. Lambier, 7 Cal. 347 ; Greer v. Blancher, 40 Cal. 194; Gates v. Salmon, 28 Cal. 320; Thorne v. San Francisco, 4 Cal. 127.)
Our position is that it was the…
2Cases cited7 opinions
- Moore v. . the Mayor, Aldermen, C., of New YorkNew York Court of Appeals · 1853
- Camarillo v. FenlonCalifornia Supreme Court · 1874
- Gates v. SalmonCalifornia Supreme Court · 1865
- Cohen v. DavisCalifornia Supreme Court · 1862
- Greer v. BlancharCalifornia Supreme Court · 1870
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3Cited by7 opinions
- Levins v. RovegnoCalifornia Supreme Court · 1886
- Attorney General v. ClarkMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1915
- Tyrrell v. BaldwinCalifornia Supreme Court · 1889
- Dickey v. GibsonCalifornia Supreme Court · 1896
- Katsivalis v. Serrano Reconveyance Co.California Court of Appeal · 1977
2 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.