In Re Estate of Watson

The clear and unambiguous language of Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2353(b)(3) (Reissue 1979) provides that where there has been a valid court proceeding concluded by an order purporting to terminate all marital property rights, a party governed by such an order cannot be deemed a “surviving spouse.” A reading of this plain language leads to the inescapable conclusion that where, as in the present case, a husband has been a party to such an order, he cannot receive another share of his wife’s estate as a “surviving spouse.” The eighth circuit reached this conclusion in applying § 30-2353 in Prudential…