Mitchell's Estate
Opinion of the Court
The exceptant claimed her exemption as the so-called common-law wife of the decedent, and produced some testimony of cohabitation and reputation as such. There was also some testimony on the other side, but it is not' necessary to consider any of it, for cohabitation and reputation do not constitute marriage, but merely raise a presumption of it, and in this case it all goes for nothing, as the claimant herself on the stand testified that there had been neither a ceremonial marriage or a marriage by agreement. The auditing judge, following McDevitt’s Estate, 280 Pa. 50, correctly dismissed the exceptant’s claim.
All exceptions are dismissed, and the adjudication is confirmed absolutely.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.