Dower in Michigan

Joslyn R. Muller (Editor-in-Chief of Law Review, University of Detroit Mercy School of Law) recently published her comment entitled Haven’t Women Obtained Equality? An Analysis of the Constitutionality of Dower in Michigan, 87 Det. Mercy L. Rev. 533 (2010). The introduction is below:

The constitutionality of gender-distinctive dower is questionable at best. While it may not be unconstitutional per se, some States have held it to be unconstitutional, and a vast majority of States either have abolished dower or implemented a gender-neutral dower scheme or both. Michigan is one of the only States that continues to have gender-distinctive dower statutes.

This Comment provides an equal protection analysis of gender-distinctive dower, focusing on Michigan’s current dower scheme. Part I traces the history and purpose of dower and sets up a foundation for the subsequent discussion. Part II discusses equal protection considerations and provides an analysis of the intermediate scrutiny test applicable to gender distinctions in the law. Part III offers a survey of state treatment of dower, focusing on several States that treat dower in different ways. Part III is also supplemented by Appendix A, which references relevant statutes from each of the fifty States and the District of Columbia. Part IV examines the dower scheme as it has developed in Michigan, analyzing its constitutionality by contrasting the approaches of two Michigan Supreme Court Justices and offering an independent analysis. Part IV also explores Michigan’s options in the event its current dower scheme is held unconstitutional. This Part additionally addresses the various implementation considerations of a constitutional dower system.