New York Court of Appeals
In the Matter of the Judicial Settlement of the Accounts of Proceedings of Alice L. Gilbert, Deceased, as Executrix…
April 17, 1923235 N.Y. 390
Summary
The Court held that a marriage annulled for duress or force is void ab initio, so the parents did not intermarry within the meaning of Chapter 531 of the Laws of 1895 and their child is illegitimate. Accordingly, the order of the Appellate Division and the surrogate's decree were reversed and the matter remanded for entry of a decree of nullity consistent with this opinion.