Q: Why would estranged spouse who left decreased for another man and lagged on signing divorce papers get all vs kin
My brother's wife suddenly decided to leave him right after going thru 5 IVF treatments trying to have a baby. She had met another man and moved to a different state to be with him. My brother had paid her the money they had mutually settled on in the divorce because it was going to be easy and he wanted it done. She had papers but would not return to him or would not return his calls. Aside from this, there were other things in my brothers life that cause him to take his life. (Kicker is right after she left I told him to change life insurance beneficiaries- he did not or could not) So now I guess because there was no official divorce - she gets everything? my parents are still both alive.... She came to the memorial and acted like his wife. How can we have no legal grounds to my brother's estate when she was out of his house (in his name) and she was living with another man, she accepted the divorce settlement money from my brother - isn't that a verbal agreement? Any guidance>
A:
Generally, a divorce in Michigan isn't legally final until a judgment of divorce has been entered. But, Michigan law creates an exception to this in the Estates and Protected Individuals Code: a "surviving spouse" does not include someone who, for 1 year or more before the other spouse's death, (1) was willfully absent from the decedent spouse, (2) deserted the decedent spouse, or (3) willfully neglected or refused to provide support for the decedent spouse if required to do so by law. MCL 700.2801.
It's not clear from your question whether the estranged wife was apart from your brother for more than 1 year before his death. If she was, then maybe you might have an arguable case that the estranged wife shouldn't inherit from your brother's estate. You would need to show actions by the estranged wife "indicating a conscious decision to permanently no longer be involved in the marriage." See In re: Harris Estate, 151 Mich App 780, 787 (1986).
Also, the facts you mention might be used for an action based on unjust enrichment - if she received money from your brother that was intended as divorce settlement, she shouldn't also be allowed to also keep the life insurance proceeds. You could argue your brother paid the estranged wife the money, and that was supposed to compensate her for the life insurance and whatever else she wouldn't get by being divorced. Being allowed to keep both is a double recovery by the estranged spouse. But it's not a slam dunk. These cases are highly fact-dependent, and judge-dependent. You should talk to a probate attorney who in the area where your brother last lived (his county of last residence) for more information.
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