In re Strittmater

In the Matter of the Estate of Strittmater (140 NJ Eq. 94) is a 1947 New Jersey legal decision relating to the estate of militant feminist Louisa Strittmater (1896-1944).

Strittmater's devision of her estate to the National Women's Party (a feminist group) was challenged, and at issue was Stittmater's capacity to execute a will.Perlin, Michael L. and Pamela Champine. [http://www.nyls.edu/pdfs/v46n3-4p573-580.pdf "Therapeutic Jurisprudence: The "Sanist" Factor - An Interdisciplinary Approach."] 46 New York Law School Law Review 573 (2002–2003).] The lower court heard evidence from a medical witness, who described her as "paranoid," though testimony revealed that "in her dealings with her lawyer and her bank – and others — she was entirely reasonable and normal." This court ruled that the evidence "incontrovertibly" showed "her morbid aversion to men andfeminism to a neurotic extreme."

On appeal, the decision was upheld; the Court of Appeals stated that that "It was her paranoic condition, especially her insane delusions about the male...that led her to leave her estate to the National Women’s Party." Because, in the court's view, her "disease" left her mentally unfit to execute a will, her will was set aside.

The Strittmater decision has been described as a pretextual decision arising from the judges' biases.

References

Further reading

* Dukeminier et al. "Wills, Trusts, and Estates" (8th ed. 2004) at 149-50.