King v. Nash (In Re Estate of Erwin)

Viviano, J. (dissenting).

The majority today holds "that an individual is not a surviving spouse for the purposes of MCL 700.2801(2)(e)( i ) if he or she intended to be absent from his or her spouse for the year or more leading up to the spouse's death." 1 Further, the majority states that "[a]bsence in this context presents a factual inquiry based on the totality of the circumstances, and courts should evaluate whether complete physical and emotional absence existed, resulting in an end to the marriage for practical purposes ." 2 Because I conclude that the "willfully absent" provision in the…