In Re Morrow's Will’s Empirical Analysis
1937
Citation profile
2 federal appellate · 43 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 45 later decisions — most recently June 2009 · most notably Dunham v. Stitzberg (1948), Mathieson v. Hubler (1978)
2 federal appellate · 43 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on Case of Broderick's Will · United States v. Perkins · Gaines v. Fuentes · Spiller v. Atchison T & S F Ry Co · Ellis v. Davis
Most-quoted passages
The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 45 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“"`* * * Upon what is the right of an heir or other person in interest to contest a will fundamentally based? Manifestly, upon the illegal deprivation occasioned to him, the illegal loss to him of property or property rights, by giving recognition to an instrument depriving him of those rights, which instrument for one or another cause, is illegal, invalid and void. While the mere expectancy of an heir is not usually regarded as property, the moment the ancestor has died, that expectancy is changed into a vested interest in property. It becomes thus vested by virtue of the death. If, then, those rights are destroyed or impaired by an instrument which, though in form a will, is not for any reason recognized by the law a valid instrument, clearly the heir is being stripped of his vested rights to property by a paper writing as iniquitous as though it were forged as indeed it may be.'"”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage“"The effect of a successful will contest is to establish the contestant's right to property; for he must be pecuniarily interested (usually as an heir at law), so that when the will is eliminated the laws of descent and distribution are effective to establish his title. Property rights are directly involved."”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage“29-1-13. Dying without issue — Inheritance by widow or parents. — If the intestate leave no issue, the whole of his estate shall go to his wife; if he leaves no wife, the portion which would have gone to her shall go to his parents. If one [1] of his parents be dead, the portion which would have gone to such deceased parent, shall go to the surviving parent. 29-1-14. No issue or widow and both parents dead — Inheritance by heirs of parents. — If both parents be dead, the portion which would have fallen to their share, by the above rule, shall be disposed of in the same manner as if they had outlived the intestate, and died in the possession and ownership of the portion thus falling to their share; and so on through the ascending ancestors and their issue. 29-1-15. Inheritance by heirs of wife. — If heirs are not thus found the portion uninherited shall go to the heirs of the wife of the intestate, if dead, according to like rules, and if he has had more than one [1] wife, who died, it shall be equally divided between the heirs of all such wives, taking by right of representation. 29-1-22. Provisions concerning widows apply to widowers. — All provisions of the law relating to wills and to estates of deceased persons made in regard to the widow of a deceased husband, shall be applicable to the surviving husband of a deceased wife.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.