79 So. 354 | Ala. | 1918
This bill is filed by the complainant, a former wife, to enforce dower against the lands of her late husband now deceased. The bill sets out a decree granting the complainant a divorce by the Illinois court, a state in which she was then and is now a resident, and seeks to subject to her claim of dower lands owned by her said husband situated in Alabama which was the residence of said decedent.
The validity of the divorce is not questioned by the complainant, and presumptively it will be regarded as legal and binding on the parties thereto. Thompson v. Thompson,
Section 3816 of the Code of 1907 says:
"3816. A divorce from the bonds of matrimony bars the wife of her dower, and of any distributive share in the personal estate of her husband."
This statute is now much broader than it was when considered in the cases of Williams v. Hale,
The appellant contends, however, that the decree of the Illinois court should be *17
taken in its entirety, and that, as it expressly preserved the dower right of the appellant, this court should give full faith and credit to same by enforcing it in this state. Whether or not the preservation of this right was warranted by the laws of Illinois, we are not concerned, though conceding such to be the case, we think that portion of the decree has no such extraterritorial jurisdiction as would bind this court in extending or abrogating our statutes relative to dower or the transmission of real estate generally. A divorce from the bonds of matrimony bars the wife's dower, unless preserved by the lex rei sitæ. Barrett v. Failing,
The trial court did not err in sustaining the demurrer to the bill, and the decree is affirmed.
Affirmed.
MAYFIELD, SOMERVILLE, and THOMAS, JJ., concur.