## Facts

- David Richard Stiles died intestate in Ohio in 1977.
- Thelma Jean Snyder, Stiles’s daughter from a prior marriage, was appointed administratrix and claimed to be the sole heir.
- Linda Stiles, Stiles’s niece, asserted she and the decedent lived together for over ten years in a common-law marital relationship.
- Linda sought recognition as the surviving spouse, a widow’s allowance, and removal of Snyder as administratrix.
- The probate court excluded much of Linda’s offered evidence about the decedent’s conduct, declarations, and community reputation, and dismissed her claims.
- The court of appeals reversed, reasoning the relationship could be treated as a marriage because an uncle–niece union was voidable rather than void.
- The Supreme Court of Ohio accepted review to resolve whether an alleged uncle–niece common-law marriage could be legally effective.

## Issues

1. Whether a purported common-law marriage between an uncle and his niece in Ohio is void ab initio or merely voidable for purposes of probate succession and widow’s rights.
2. Whether any evidentiary error in excluding proof of common-law marriage could matter if the claimed relationship was legally incapable of forming a valid marriage.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of Ohio reversed the court of appeals.
- The court held that a common-law marriage between an uncle and his niece is incestuous and void ab initio under Ohio law.
- Because the alleged union was void from its inception, Linda could not be treated as a surviving spouse and was not entitled to a widow’s allowance or removal of the administratrix.
- Any dispute over excluded evidence was immaterial because no amount of proof could create a valid marriage prohibited by statute.

## Legal Principles

- Ohio’s statutory consanguinity restrictions render an uncle–niece marriage a nullity; no marital status or marital rights arise.
- The same substantive impediments that invalidate ceremonial marriages also invalidate purported common-law marriages.
- Void marriages differ from voidable marriages: a void marriage is legally nonexistent from the outset and cannot confer spousal rights absent any decree.
- Changes to criminal prohibitions do not, by themselves, confer civil recognition or validate a relationship that marriage statutes prohibit.

## Conclusion

The court concluded that an uncle–niece relationship cannot produce a valid common-law marriage in Ohio because it is statutorily prohibited and void ab initio, leaving the claimant without surviving-spouse status or probate benefits.


In re Estate of Stiles, 59 Ohio St. 2d 73, 391 N.E.2d 1026 (Ohio 1979)