Matter of Estate of Ensign
New York Court of Appeals
Appeal from judgment of the General Term of the Supreme Oourt, in the fifth judicial department, entered upon an order made the first Tuesday of June, 1886, which affirmed a decree of the surrogate of the county of Erie dismissing the petition of Jennie Ensign Martin, which asked to have set aside the prohate of the will of Elisha "W. Ensign, deceased, and ratifying and confirming the decree admitting the will to probate.
Read the full summary
Appeal from judgment of the General Term of the Supreme Oourt, in the fifth judicial department, entered upon an order made the first Tuesday of June, 1886, which affirmed a decree of the surrogate of the county of Erie dismissing the petition of Jennie Ensign Martin, which asked to have set aside the prohate of the will of Elisha "W. Ensign, deceased, and ratifying and confirming the decree admitting the will to probate. It appeared that the deceased and the petitioner were married in 1867, and lived together as man and wife until 1875; that a child was born of said marriage in 1869, which…
1Opinion of the CourtFinch, J.
A statutory construction, unchallenged for more than half a century, is assailed on this appeal.
That a divorced wife, however innocent, has no right to a distributive share in the personal estate of her divorced husband, upon his death intestate, has been conceded until a very recent period, but is now asserted to have been all the time a mistake, which should be at last corrected.
A single provision of the statute relating to divorce gives color to the construction sought. Where the decree is founded upon the misconduct of the wife it is expressly provided that “ she shall not be entitled to…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- The People v. . FaberNew York Court of Appeals · 1883
- People v. HoveyNew York Supreme Court · 1849
3Cited by37 opinions
- Lynn v. LynnNew York Court of Appeals · 1951
- Wilson v. . HinmanNew York Court of Appeals · 1905
- Livingston v. . LivingstonNew York Court of Appeals · 1903
- In re the Accounting of RathscheckNew York Court of Appeals · 1950
- MacKay v. MacKayAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1952
32 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.