Lizzie Borden Society Forum

Does anyone know what Masachussetts law would have provided at the time of the murders if Andrew had died intestate? The states differ considerably with respect to the amount automatically allotted to the current spouse of the deceased.

I seem to remember a previous discussion to the effect that under the law at that time, if her husband died intestate, the widow would receive 1/3 of her husband's estate. And in Rebello there is a note which appears to address this point --


"NOTE : If Andrew Borden was killed first, Abby Borden's heirs would have been entitled to one-third of the estate. Emma and Lizzie would have received two-thirds of their father's estate.
The Public Statutes of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts , Boston: Wynn and Potler Printing Co., State Printers, 1886, Chapter 24, Sec. 3, Chapter 125, Sec. 1."
(Lizzie Borden: Past and Present, page 277)

There was also a rumor going around that before the murders Lizzie had gone to New York and had talked to a lawyer. Supposedly, finding out from the lawyer that if Andrew died before Abby, even if it was just a few minutes, then that would mean he died leaving a widow. In which case, her heirs would be considered in how his money and property was distributed.

Please see Topic:
viewtopic.php?t=1352&start=0

It's a very good question which I'm glad is raised from time to time!
Hi!

Hi, Kat!

Thanks for the answers everyone. I'm trying to avoid reading too much into the planning aspect of the murders.

So, if I'm reading the posts correctly, the surviving spouse gets the first $5,000 in real estate outright. They also get a life interest in the balance of the real estate, essentially they get the income realized from it. In Andrew's case, this would be substantial. While there is provision for a widow's dowry or income from the estate, it is unclear whether this dowry is in addition to or a part of the income from the life interest. There seems to be no mention of the surviving spouse's right to any liquid assets (money) from the estate other than dowry as income.

Various states differ greatly when it comes to inheritance. Some give the surviving spouse the first $100,000 and 1/2 of the balance, some provide an overall percentage of the entire estate, some states make the distinction of "spouse number", first spouse gets all, second spouse gets 1/2, third gets 1/3, etc.

I'm trying to look at the inheritance angle from Andrew's perspective. It was suggested that he was going to make a will and that implies he wanted to change the outcome from that which was provided by default. He seemed to have his wife and daughters telling him what to do with his money which he probably resented. They had demonstrated that they could remain hostile toward one another for a number of years over a relatively trivial matter (from Andrew's perspective) even after he had tried to ameliorate the rift.

He might have been just as well off had he converted his entire estate to paper money and burned it in the stove! But then he would have had three women after him with hatchets...