Charles C. Windsor v. Marjorie Mansfield Leonard

D.C.Code § 19-113 entitles a surviving husband or wife to renounce his rights under his spouse’s will and elect instead a statutory share “not to exceed one-half of the net estate bequeathed and devised by the will . . . ”. This case raises a question as to what should be included in a decedent’s “net estate” for purposes of determining the statutory share.

In May, 1969, Mrs. Virginia Windsor established a revocable trust and transferred to it assets worth some $190,000. The beneficiaries of the trust were various friends and charities. Mrs. Windsor died in December, 1970, leaving an estate…