In re Estate of Pelton

Summary

The Supreme Court affirmed the probate division’s determination that the surviving‑spouse statute does not bar the respondent under the abandonment provision because the decedent consented to her living arrangements, but vacated and remanded the decision on the justification‑for‑living‑apart provision, requiring the trial court to find whether the decedent was justifiably living apart because the survivor’s conduct constituted cause for divorce. The Court applied a plain‑error standard to factual findings and a de novo standard to statutory interpretation.