A father of 7 children bequeathed all his property to one of his daughters, but a woman objected to the probation of the will on the grounds that she had been his common-law spouse for 17 years and is entitled to half of his property and rights.
The Court rejected the objection to the probate and held that the woman was not a common-law spouse at the time of the testator demise. In the absence of a will, inheritance rights will also be given to one who is a common-law spouse, even if not married, but if they ran a "family life" for a significant period of their lives and managed a "joint household", i.e., under mutual financial management of a residential unit shared by the parties. Here, the deceased left behind a will in which the spouse was not mentioned at all. In addition, the deceased and the spouse managed separate households and there was complete financial separation between them. Therefore, the friendly relationship that existed between the deceased and the woman does not justify recognition of them as having conducted a relationship with the legal status of common-law marriage and the Court probated the deceased's will.