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47 Ariz. L. Rev. 167 (2005)
Quasi-Community Property in Arizona: Why Just at Divorce and Not Death

handle is hein.journals/arz47 and id is 179 raw text is: QUASI-COMMUNITY PROPERTY IN ARIZONA: WHY JUST AT DIVORCE AND NOT DEATH? Mark Patton INTRODUCTION Married couples migrating to Arizona from common law states may face a distressing problem. Consider, for example, the following two hypotheticals: one about Fred and Wilma and one about Wild Bill and Calamity Jane. After thirty- five long years of operating heavy machinery in the local rock quarry, Fred was ready to retire, leave the East Coast weather behind, and head west to Arizona to live out the rest of his life with his high school sweetheart, Wilma. The couple had always been frugal and never spent more than necessary. Fortunately, their thriftiness had allowed them to accumulate a good amount of money for retirement, and they looked forward to finally living the good life-bowling everyday for Fred and a maid for Wilma. Before leaving for Arizona, Fred wanted to make sure that Wilma would be taken care of should anything bad happen to him. Fred did a little research and discovered that under their state's elective share laws, Wilma could elect to take one-half of Fred's gross estate regardless of what Fred did in his will. Relying on his research and wishing to avoid too much technicality, Fred prepared a will that left his entire estate to the Junior Bowling League of America. Fred fully expected that Wilma would get one-half of the estate, which would have been plenty to support her for the rest of her life. Unfortunately, shortly after arriving in Arizona, Fred was tragically killed in a freak accident at the bowling alley. Wilma, still stricken with grief over Fred's sudden death, was shocked to learn that Arizona did not have a provision that would allow her to receive one-half of Fred's estate. The whole estate went to the Junior Bowling League and Wilma was forced to return to the East Coast to live out her life with her friend Betty. And now the second story: after an eventful career as a sheriff, Wild Bill decided it was time to get out of Dodge (Kansas, a common law state). He took his wife, Calamity Jane, and headed west to Arizona. Bill's skills as a gunslinger had served him well as sheriff and he had collected several large rewards for doing away with unwanted outlaws. Those rewards had made him a rich man, and he * J.D. candidate 2005, University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. The Author would like to thank his wife and children with whom he gladly shares all successes in life.

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