Hall v. McBride

• Decision Date: 30 June 1982
• Parties: Mary E. HALL v. Lee Andrew McBRIDE, as Successor Executor of the Estate of William L. Hall, Deceased. 81-69.
• Court: Alabama Supreme Court

Page 986

416 So.2d 986

Mary E. HALL v. Lee Andrew McBRIDE, as Successor Executor of the Estate of William L. Hall, Deceased.

81-69.

Supreme Court of Alabama.

June 30, 1982.

E. Graham Gibbons of Reid & Gibbons, Mobile, for appellant.

Charles Hoffman, Mobile, for appellee.

Charles A. Graddick, Atty. Gen., and Thomas R. Allison, Asst. Atty. Gen., amici curiae for appellant.

FAULKNER, Justice.

William Hall died on May 25, 1979. On July 3, 1979, his wife, Mary E. Hall, filed for letters of administration on William Hall's estate, alleging he left no last will and testament. The letters of administration were issued on July 20, 1979. In August, Mr. Hall's sister, Anne Hall McBride, filed a petition to admit the last will and testament of Mr. Hall. The probate Court of Mobile County admitted the will to probate. Mary Hall, the widow, filed a dissent from the will pursuant to Code 1975, § 43-1-15. Anne McBride filed a motion to strike the dissent.

The Honorable John L. Moore, Probate Judge of Mobile County, granted Mrs. Hall's motion to strike the widow's dissent. The judge granted the motion to strike on the grounds that § 43-1-15 makes an unconstitutional gender-based classification. The probate court also refused to extend § 43-1-15 to those persons who were not explicitly extended protection, namely, widowers. Mary Hall, the surviving spouse, appeals.

Mary Hall married the deceased in 1945. Mrs. Hall returned to college in 1963 or 1964, and had lived apart from her husband since that time--approximately seventeen years. Her income for the past few years has been approximately $15,000.00 annually. She designated herself as being single on her income tax returns for these years.

Two issues are raised on appeal: 1) Whether § 43-1-15 provides a constitutionally impermissible gender-based classification under the equal protection provisions of the United States and Alabama constitutions. 2) If yes, whether § 43-1-15 should be totally invalidated or whether the section should be expanded to provide benefits to the entire class of persons, surviving spouses.

It is clear that a statutory classification that distinguishes between males and females is "subject to scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause." Craig v. Boren, 429 U.S. 190, 97 S.Ct. 451, 50 L.Ed.2d 397 (1976). Nevertheless, the Supreme Court of the United States has had some difficulty in agreeing upon the proper approach and analysis in cases involving challenges to gender-based classifications. Michael M. v. Superior Court of Sonoma County, 450 U.S. 464, 101 S.Ct. 1200, 67 L.Ed.2d 437 (1981). The major area of conflict has centered on the proper level of scrutiny to apply to a statutory classification which places a burden on males which is not shared by females. Id.

The test often enunciated by the Court for determining the constitutionality of a gender-based classification is whether the classification bears a "substantial relationship" to "important governmental objectives." Id.; Orr v. Orr, 440 U.S. 268, 99 S.Ct. 1102, 59 L.Ed.2d 306 (1979); Craig v. Boren, 429 U.S. 190, 97 S.Ct. 451, 50 L.Ed.2d 397 (1976). In general, a statute will not be upheld if the statute makes "overbroad generalizations based on sex." A statute which is based on the legislature's misconceptions concerning the role of females in the home rather than in the "market place and the world of ideas" will not survive constitutional scrutiny. Craig v. Boren, 429 U.S. at 199, 97 S.Ct. at 457. A gender-based legislative classification carries "the inherent risk of reinforcing the stereotypes about the 'proper place' of women and their need for special protection." Orr v. Orr, 440 U.S. at 283, 99 S.Ct. at 1113. "Thus, even statutes purportedly designed to compensate for and ameliorate the effects of past discrimination must be carefully tailored." Id. A statute based on notions of "romantic paternalism" and which carry "the baggage of sexual stereotypes" cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny. Frontiero v. Richardson, 411 U.S. 677, 93 S.Ct. 1764, 36 L.Ed.2d 583 (1972).

On the other hand, the Equal Protection Clause does not "demand that a statute necessarily apply equally to all persons" or require "things which are different in fact ... to be treated in law as though they were the same." Michael M. v. Superior Court of Sonoma County, 450 U.S. at 469, 101 S.Ct. at 1204 (quoting Tigner v. Texas, 310 U.S. 141, 60 S.Ct. 879, 84 L.Ed. 1124 (1940)). The Court has upheld statutes in which the gender classifications "realistically reflect the fact that the sexes are not similarly situated in certain circumstances." Id.; Schlesinger v. Ballard, 419 U.S. 498, 95 S.Ct. 572, 42 L.Ed.2d 610 (1975); Kahn v. Shevin, 416 U.S. 351, 94 S.Ct. 1734, 40 L.Ed.2d 189 (1974).

Alabama's statutory scheme on descent and distribution permits a widow to dissent from her deceased husband's will and take an amount equal to a widow's intestate share in personalty, and her dower portion of realty. Code 1975, § 43-1-15. At common law, a widow who was not satisfied with the portion her husband gave her in his will, could seek a writ of dower unde nihil habiut against the tenant of the freehold. If she established her right to the writ, she assigned her dower to the sheriff. Finally, an action of ejectment was brought against the current land holder. See Dean v. Hart, 62 Ala. 308 (1878); McLeod v. McDonnel, 6 Ala. 236 (1844). The widow's right to dower was in addition to the gifts or devises to the widow by her husband. Id. Section 43-1-15 and its predecessors changed the common law. The presumption is that a gift or devise by a husband in his will to his wife precludes the widow from receiving an intestate share.

The purpose of enacting § 43-1-15 is to protect the wife from a husband who would cut her from his will, leaving her with few or no assets for her support. See McGhee v. Stephens, 83 Ala. 466, 3 So. 808 (1887); McReynolds v. Jones, 30 Ala. 101 (1857).

"In the feudal system from which dower arose, the husband had complete control over family wealth; consequently, the widow was forced to depend upon her deceased husband's estate for support." Comment, Reverse Sex Discrimination Under Alabama's Law of Decedents' Estates, 32 Ala.L.Rev. 135, 150 (1980); see Jones, Alabama Probate Law--Need for Revision of Intestate Provisions, 20 Ala.L.Rev. 121 (1967). The purpose of § 43-1-15 is to put the claims of the widow "beyond her husband's control," thus protecting her from being left with little or no means of support. McGhee v. Stephens, 83 Ala. 466, 3 So. 808 (1887); McReynolds v. Jones, 30 Ala. 101 (1857).

In order to withstand scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause, this gender-based classification must serve "important governmental objectives and must be substantially related to achievement of those objectives." Orr v. Orr, 440 U.S. at 279, 99 S.Ct. at 1111. Our next step is to examine the governmental objectives of the statutory scheme.

One obvious objective of the statute has its roots in romantic paternalism--protection of women because it is assumed that their role as wives and mothers leaves them financially helpless. The statute "effectively announce[s] the State's preference for an allocation of family responsibilities under which the wife plays a dependent role, and as seeking for [its] objective the reinforcement of that model among the State's citizens." Orr v. Orr, 440 U.S. 279, 99 S.Ct. 1111. The United States Supreme Court has stated repeatedly that such an objective which is part of the baggage of sexual stereotypes presuming certain roles of males and females in the home and the working world cannot sustain the constitutionality of statutes. See, e.g., Kirchberg v. Feenstra, 450 U.S. 455, 101 S.Ct. 1195, 67 L.Ed.2d 428 (1981); Michael M. v. Superior Court of Sonoma County, 450 U.S. 464, 101 S.Ct. 1200, 67 L.Ed.2d 437 (1981); Caban v. Mohammed, 441 U.S. 380, 99 S.Ct. 1760, 60 L.Ed.2d 297 (1979); Orr v. Orr, 440 U.S. 268, 99 S.Ct. 1102, 59 L.Ed.2d 306 (1979); Craig v. Boren, 429 U.S. 190, 97 S.Ct. 451, 50 L.Ed.2d 397 (1976); Frontiero v. Richardson, 411 U.S. 677, 93 S.Ct. 1764, 36 L.Ed.2d 583 (1972). The statute, if it is to survive constitutional attack, must be validated on some other basis.

It may be asserted that, like Alabama's gender-based alimony statutes, § 43-1-15, giving only a widow the right to dissent from the spouse's will, serves to reduce the economic disparity between men and women which is the result of our long history of discrimination against women. Furthermore it may be asserted that § 43-1-15 serves the purpose of assisting needy spouses. The United States Supreme Court has recognized that these are both important governmental objectives. See Orr v. Orr, 440 U.S. at 280, 99 S.Ct. at 1112; Califano v. Webster, 430 U.S. 313, 97 S.Ct. 1192, 51 L.Ed.2d 360 (1977); Kahn v. Shevin, 416 U.S. 351, 94 S.Ct. 1734, 40 L.Ed.2d 189 (1974).

The final step in our analysis under the Equal Protection Clause is to determine whether the classification contained in the statute is substantially related to the aforementioned important governmental objectives. We hold that it is not.

In general, gender is not "a reliable proxy for need." Orr v. Orr, 440 U.S. at 281, 99 S.Ct. at 1112. The statute provides aid to women who are excluded from their husbands' wills, but no aid to men who are destitute and who are inequitably excluded from their wives' will. The statute also gives aid to widows who are not needy, to the exclusion of other needy devisees. Thus, the alleged purpose of the statute, to help needy spouses, could be fulfilled by a gender-neutral statute. "Where, as here, the State's compensatory and ameliorative purposes are as well served by a gender-neutral classification as one that gender classifies and therefore carries with it the baggage of sexual stereotypes, the State cannot be permitted to classify on the basis of sex." Orr v. Orr, 440 U.S. at 283, 99 S.Ct. at...