Estate of Rosenthal v. Rosenthal

The sole issue presented is as follows: Where a husband and wife own real estate as joint tenants and said real estate is subject to a mortgage and mortgage note signed by both parties as co-obligors and the husband dies, the wife thereafter paying the mortgage, does the wife have a claim against the husband’s estate for contribution to the extent of one half of the amount of the mortgage?

There is a sharp conflict of authority on the issue presented. The majority view allowing contribution proceeds on the theory of the joint and several nature of the obligation coupled with the application of…