Welch v. Welch

SHORT, Vice Chancellor:

This is an action by heirs at law and next of kin of Mae M. Matthews seeking to impress a constructive trust for their benefit on property which the decedent owned jointly with her husband, James Claude Matthews. The case is before the court on the motion of defendant charitable corporations, twelve in number, for judgment on the pleadings.

For purposes of the motion the following facts are accepted as true: On December 24, 1966, Mae M. Matthews (Mae) was feloniously killed by her husband, James Claude Matthews (James), who thereafter committed suicide. At the time of…