Dent v. Rose, 83-171

• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: GEORGE ROSE SMITH
• Citation: Dent v. Rose, 661 S.W.2d 361, 281 Ark. 42 (Ark. 1983)
• Decision Date: 28 November 1983
• Docket Number: No. 83-171,83-171
• Parties: Nell Godley Rose DENT, Appellant, v. Billy F. ROSE and Bobby D. Rose, Appellees.

Page 361

661 S.W.2d 361

281 Ark. 42

Nell Godley Rose DENT, Appellant, v. Billy F. ROSE and Bobby D. Rose, Appellees.

No. 83-171.

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

Nov. 28, 1983.

Blaine A. Jackson and Ernest G. Lawrence, Bentonville, for appellant.

Burrow & Sawyer by Stephen P. Sawyer, Bentonville, for appellees.

GEORGE ROSE SMITH, Justice.

Jack Farrell Rose died intestate in 1979, survived by his widow (the appellant) and by two sons (the appellees). In 1982 the sons filed a petition in the administration proceedings, asking for a judgment declaring that the widow is not entitled to dower because the dower statutes in force at Rose's death were unconstitutional as being discriminatory as between men and women. This appeal by the widow is from a judgment declaring the dower statutes to be unconstitutional and denying dower.

The probate judge relied upon our decisions in Stokes v. Stokes, 271 Ark. 300, 613 S.W.2d 372 (1981), and two similar cases, all of which involved the right of a widow to renounce her husband's will and elect to take dower instead. The probate judge did not have the benefit of a case decided more recently, in which we explained that the language in Stokes and similar cases was too broad, in that our earlier dower and curtesy stat...