Re: Trust Under Deed of D. Kulig Apl of Budke, C.

OPINION

JUSTICE WECHT

This Commonwealth has a “long existing public policy ... to protect the rights of [a surviving spouse]” against total disinheritance by his or her deceased spouse. In re Pengelly’s Estate, 374 Pa. 358, 97 A.2d 844, 849 (1953).1 For centuries, the common law prevented such disinheritances under.the doctrine of dower and. curtesy, which established for surviving spouses threshold entitlements to their ..deceased spouse’s property.2 Pennsylvania’s Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code (“PEF Code” or “the Code”)3 includes two provisions designed to protect against negligent…