Estate cases affect families differently. Sometimes Estates deal with people in the twilight of their lives, and other times it deals with people in the primes of their lives.
When dealing with the death of a spouse, the surviving spouse oftentimes is left with a number of bills and expenses that they are not financially able to handle. This is where the concept of widow’s allowance was born. The Mississippi Code provides for such relief:
A widow or widower who was dependent on the surviving spouse is statutorily entitled to a year’s allowance for his or her maintenance and that of the children, if any. Section 91–7–135 imposes a duty on “the appraisers [of an estate] to set apart out of the effects of the decedent, for the spouse and children who were being supported by the decedent, or for the spouse if there be no such children, or for such children if there be no spouse, one (1) year’s provision[.]” Miss.Code Ann. § 91–7–135. This provision may take the form of money “necessary for the comfortable support of the spouse and children, or spouse or children, as the case may be, for one (1) year.”