Abstract
Elsewhere in the pages of this issue the reader will find a discussion of some of the more important legislation enacted by the 1972 session of the General Assembly of Virginia.' This article is concerned with one of the bills that did not pass-the bill to abolish dower and curtesy. Why all this concern with a dead bill, especially since the dower problem is one of long standing which has sustained attacks before? The answer is that the forces of opposition have grown stronger each year among Virginia lawyers. The Virginia Advisory Legislative Council has recommended the conversion of dower into a fee simple estate and the bill under consideration, which does just that, passed the House by a vote of 95 to 0. It is expected that this bill, or a reasonable facsimile, will be reintroduced next year and, if it clears the Senate committee, Senate passage will be a virtual certainty. Therefore, the purpose of this article is not to argue for the abolition of dower. That has already been done in several of the law reviews of this state. Rather, it is assumed that dower is to be abolished and the question for discussion is, "What vehicle should we choose to replace dower?"
Recommended Citation
J. R. Johnson,
The Abolition of Dower in Virginia: The Uniform Probate Code as an Alternative to Proposed Legislation,
7
U. Rich. L. Rev.
99
(1972).
Available at:
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/lawreview/vol7/iss1/4