Estate of Smart v. Smart

BACON, Presiding Judge.

This appeal involves an ancillary probate proceeding in Jefferson County, Oklahoma, for a deceased California resident. The trial court ruled that decedent’s common law wife could elect to take her forced heir share of decedent’s Oklahoma property. Decedent’s children appeal from that ruling.

The pertinent facts necessary to resolve this case are undisputed. The record shows that in 1950, decedent, Harold Smart, was married to Marie. On October 21, 1950, decedent, a resident of California, and appellee, Gwendolyn Smart, participated in a ceremonial marriage service in…