In re Estate of Hess

By JUDGE JACK B. COULTER

With the post-hearing publicity that this case has generated (see December 1, 1986, issue of the Virginia Lawyers Weekly, 1 V.L.W. 437, and publication of the contrary opinion of the Attorney General issued October 27, 1986), it would appear incumbent upon this court to set forth reasons in support of its decision denying the petition of Virgil J. Hess, the surviving husband of Florence Wade Smith Toler Hess, by which he sought a family allowance under Section 64.1-151.1 of the Code of Virginia of 1950, as amended, and the exempt property and homestead allowances which…