Case Name: Marcus Estate
Court: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Jurisdiction: Pennsylvania
Decision Date: 1961-04-17
Citations: 403 Pa. 324
Docket Number: Appeal, No. 53
Parties: Marcus Estate.
Judges: Before Jones, C. J., Bell, Musmanno, Jones, Cohen, Bok and Eagen, JJ.
Reporter: Pennsylvania State Reports
Volume: 403
Pages: 324–326

Head Matter:
Marcus Estate.
Argued March 17, 1961.
Before Jones, C. J., Bell, Musmanno, Jones, Cohen, Bok and Eagen, JJ.
Earl R. Handler, with him Handler <& Malcolm, for appellant.
Richard B. Tucker, Jr., with him B. A. Karlovitz, Donald M. Miller, and Patterson, Crawford, Arensberg & Dunn, for appellee.
April 17, 1961:

Opinion:
Opinion
per Curiam,
Lena Marcus, widow of the above named decedent, filed an election to take against his will. Upon petition of a son of the deceased, and with the consent of all other beneficiaries under the decedent's will except the widow, the court below revoked and vacated the widow's attempted election on the ground that an antenuptial agreement entered into between the deceased and his future wife on the eve of their marriage effectively barred her from claiming a widow's rights in his estate. This action by the court below was eminently correct. The evidence clearly establishes that the deceased made a full and fair disclosure of his property to his prospective bride prior to their execution of the antenuptial agreement and that she was in no way overreached. Nor was the agreement invalidated by a failure of the testator's executors to pay to the widow within six months the sum due her under the terms of the agreement. Her claim under the agreement will now be duly honored by the executors who were well advised to await the termination of the litigation which the widow's attempted repudiation of the antenuptial agreement had precipitated.
Decree affirmed at appellant's costs.