Now that's an interesting point. I suppose it would depend upon the status of marital property law in Maine at that time. I remember in my state, back in the 70's, a marital property reform bill was introduced into the legislature. Until that time, all property was held as belonging to the husband alone. That included property and assets he came into the marriage with, property and assets accumulated by the couple during their marriage, and - this is unbelievable in our current day and time - any property and assets the wife brought into the marriage. If the wife died, the husband paid no inheritance tax on any of it; if the husband died, the wife had to, including on her own property and assets she brought into the marriage. Since I reside in an agricultural state, many farm widows had to sell their farms in order to pay the tax (there were convoluted loopholes that only a lawyer could decipher to prevent this from happening, or from softening the blow - my parents did that when they drew up their wills way back in the early sixties). Finally, legislation was introduced, and a very small handful of legislators fought it tooth and nail, saying that granting equal status between spouses was a "communist plot." However, it did pass. So who knows what the status of marital property was in Maine back then. If it was like where I live, it would made good stuff for a soap opera plot about a long-lost, money-grubbing hubby who returns. Although I could see Elizabeth - should Paul have demanded his "rights" - threatening to use her own power to rip his face off, settling the question right then and there.
Gerard
