Barry v. Brittain

The decisive question presented is primarily not whether Mrs. Brittain’s husband owed her the duty to support her, but whether, under the following plain and unambiguous provision of her will, — “I direct that all just debts which I may owe, including the expenses of my last illness and of my burial, be paid,” — created a charge upon Mrs. Brittain’s separate property that imposed ultimate liability on her estate. It seems obvious to me that it did.

The uniform rule is that courts must construe and enforce wills as written. Mrs. Brittain, whatever her motive, had a right to dispose of her…