Kvist's Estate

Citations

• 256 Pa. 30
• 100 A. 523
• 1917 Pa. LEXIS 554

Syllabus

<p>Decedents’ estates — Husband and wife — Forfeiture of right of curtesy — Desertion and nonsuppoH — Act of May 1¡, 1855, P. L. J¡.80, Sections 2 and 5.</p> <p>1. Section 5 of the Act of May 4,1855, P. L. 430, providing “That no husband who shall have as aforesaid, for one year or upwards previous to the death of his wife, wilfully neglected or refused to provide for his wife, or shall have for that period or upwards wilfully and maliciously deserted her, shall have the right to claim any right or title in her real or personal estate after her decease, as tenant by the curtesy, or under the intestate laws of tbis Commonwealth,” deals with a separate subject-matter and is to be considered separately from Section 2, which provides that whenever a husband “from drunkenness, profligacy or other cause, shall neglect or refuse to provide for his' wife, or shall desert her, she shall have all the rights and privileges secured to a feme sole trader”; and under Section 5 the husband loses his curtesy rights either by his neglect or refusal to support his wife or by wilful or malicious desertion. If there is a failure to support, proof of desertion is unnecessary.</p> <p>2. If a husband and wife live separately under a mutual agreement by which the wife voluntarily releases her husband from contributing to her support, his curtesy rights are not forfeited, but the mere fact that the wife does not demand support does not excuse the husband from the performance of his duty towards her.</p> <p>3. Where a man and wife were married in 1900 and lived together as butler and cook in the same family for one year, and in 1904 obtained employment in different cities, and for eight years preceding the wife’s death in 1914, the husband did not contribute toward her support, and she made no request for assistance, and he made no offer to assist her, and did not see her for several years previous to her death, although he admitted having received from her at or about the time of her marria