Patterson's Estate

Citations

• 237 Pa. 24
• 85 A. 75
• 1912 Pa. LEXIS 886

Syllabus

<p>Husband and wife — Common law marriage — Findings of fact by auditing judge.</p> <p>1. Where the testimony is conflicting or the credibility of witnesses involved, a finding of fact by an auditing judge that a marriage claimed to exist, did not in fact exist will not be set aside by an appellate court unless manifest error is shown.</p> <p>2. In order for cohabitation and reputation ’ to give rise to a presumption of marriage, the cohabitation must be such as is consistent with and would naturally result from the marriage relation and the reputation must be general.</p> <p>'3. Where the relation between the parties is illicit in its iiiception, a marriage will not be presumed because of cohabitation and'reputation without proof of a change of the relation.</p> <p>4. The finding of an auditing judge that , a woman has not sustained her claim to b.e the common law wife of a certain decedent, will not be set aside on appeal where it appears from the evidence that decedent was a man of dissipated habits who went ón frequent drunken sprees lasting from weeks to months;' that he was'6supported by a weekly allowance from hie fáther’s estate;* that his home was at his mother’s hodse,--to which he went.shortly, before his death and from which he was buried ;that the-alleged wife, was a woman of ill-repute; that decedent first .met her at a house of ill-fame which she conducted and that they subsequently, lived together at times in houses she conducted; that two1 years before his death he made a will in 'which he mentioned her -as “my intended wife”; that there was nothing in their relation- to .indicate that they regarded their cohabitation as matrimoniad; and .ijhat during this time she had purchased ..and sold real .estate in..her maiden name.</p>