Hargrave v. Duval-Couetil (In re Estate of Duval)

777 N.W.2d 380 (2010)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
H
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Hargrave v. Duval-Couetil (In re Estate of Duval)

South Dakota Supreme Court
777 N.W.2d 380 (2010)

SC
Play video

Facts

Karen Hargrave (plaintiff) and Paul Duval lived together for approximately 14 years before Duval’s death. Hargrave and Duval lived at various times in South Dakota and Oklahoma, among other states. Although Hargrave and Duval held themselves out as husband and wife, they were never formally married. Duval did appoint Hargrave as his health-plan beneficiary and granted Hargrave his power of attorney. When Duval died, Hargrave filed a petition in circuit court to be declared Duval’s surviving spouse under the common law for purposes of inheriting from Duval’s estate. The petition was opposed by Duval’s daughters (defendants). South Dakota did not recognize common-law marriage, but Oklahoma did recognize such marriages. At trial, Hargrave testified that she and Duval had an implicit agreement to be married. Hargrave explained that she and Duval never made a formal agreement to be married but at some point merely decided they were married. The circuit court found that a valid common-law marriage between Hargrave and Duval existed in Oklahoma. Accordingly, the circuit court recognized the marriage in South Dakota and granted Hargrave’s petition. Duval’s daughters appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Meierhenry, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 811,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Family Law

Key Terms