In Matter of Estate of Steffes

The plaintiff, Mrs. Brooks, left her husband and two children to live in an adulterous relationship with the deceased, a much older man who was also married. They maintained an intimate sexual relationship until his health no longer permitted it. The “services” she performed for the deceased were owed to her husband under her solemn marriage vows. After the deceased became ill, she took care of him and performed some of the farm work. But this was not a separate undertaking. It was a continuation of the meretricious relationship she had established earlier.

The majority claims that Mrs. Brooks…