## Facts

- Grady Miles executed a will on October 26, 1989, leaving Georgia Hall (then his “friend”) his automobile and a life estate in his home, with the residuary estate to his sister and sisters-in-law.
- Grady and Georgia married on February 21, 1991.
- Grady did not revoke or amend the 1989 will after the marriage.
- Grady died on September 21, 1991, with the 1989 instrument as his last will.
- Georgia, individually and as personal representative, sought an intestate share as a surviving “omitted spouse” under S.C. Code Ann. § 62-2-301(a).
- The residuary beneficiaries contested omitted-spouse status, arguing the will already “provided” for Georgia through specific devises.

## Issues

1. Whether a spouse who marries the testator after execution of a will is an “omitted spouse” under S.C. Code Ann. § 62-2-301(a) when the premarital will includes specific gifts to that person.
2. Whether such premarital gifts defeat the statute absent indications the will was made in contemplation of marriage or that the testator intended the gifts to substitute for a spousal share.
3. Whether either statutory exception applied: (a) the will shows intentional omission, or (b) the testator made an outside-the-will transfer intended to be in lieu of a testamentary provision.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of South Carolina reversed the circuit court and reinstated the probate court’s ruling.
- The court held Georgia Hall Miles was an omitted spouse under § 62-2-301(a) and entitled to the share she would take if Grady had died intestate.
- The court concluded the premarital bequests (car and life estate) did not, by themselves, establish provision for Georgia as a spouse or show the will was made in contemplation of marriage.
- The court found no evidence that the will intentionally omitted a future spouse and no evidence of an outside-the-will transfer intended to replace a testamentary share.

## Legal Principles

- Under S.C. Code Ann. § 62-2-301(a), a spouse who married the testator after execution of the will takes an intestate share if the testator failed to provide for the spouse as such, unless a statutory exception is proved.
- The presence of some premarital testamentary gift to a later spouse does not automatically preclude omitted-spouse relief; the court considers whether the will reflects intent to provide in contemplation of marriage or to account for spousal rights.
- The “intentional omission” exception requires that the will itself indicate an intent to omit the surviving spouse.
- The “outside transfer in lieu” exception requires proof of a nonprobate transfer and proof the testator intended it to substitute for testamentary provision.

## Conclusion

A premarital will that includes limited gifts to the eventual spouse does not bar omitted-spouse status where the instrument does not show it was made in contemplation of marriage and neither statutory exception is established; the surviving spouse is entitled to an intestate share.


Miles v. Miles, 440 S.E.2d 882 (S.C. 1994)