In Re Estate of Hereford

Neely, Justice:

We granted this appeal to reexamine the law concerning property settlement agreements and alimony decrees which up to this time has been far from clear. In the case before us the Circuit Court of Kanawha County upheld the claim of Quinta Beall Couch Hereford, appel-lee, for alimony against the estate of her ex-husband, Frank Morton Hereford. Appellant, Maxine W. Hereford, executrix of the estate of Frank Morton Hereford, contends that the property settlement agreement between appellee and the deceased was merged into the alimony decree entered upon their divorce, and that,…