SPOILERS Abbie left Edith in a lurch...

I don't think a will would have made a huge difference. Wills can be contested by a family member, there's no guarantee that Edith would have gotten the house. And remember, this was 1961, Edith would have been hard pressed to find a judge willing to grant her the home over Abbie's blood relative. Edith could have fought for it, but I just don't think she had the energy.

I think the way that Abbie's nephew handled it was just tacky. If he wanted the house, that's fine. But Abbie's body had barely been in the ground before the nephew was ready to boot Edith out of the house. Assuming Abbie's family was against her and Edith's relationship, then I'm not surprised that they wanted Edith out of the house immediately.

I know this is an old thread, but I just had to answer it.

Even educated people often neglect to have wills. Making a will acknowledges that you will, in fact, die someday. Death is not a pleasant subject to think about, and for that reason, countless people put off making a will. I vaguely remember seeing little infomercials on TV about the importance of having a will and having your affairs in order so as to protect your family and so on, long before this movie ever came out. it is nothing new.
I am also betting that, given the time period and their circumstances, fear of being found out may have kept Abby from making a will that included Edith, or having them put the house in both their names. It may have aroused suspicion, because why would "pals" have such an arrangement?

That being said, the nephew was a jerk. he spoke of some "inheritance tax" but could he have avoided it by signing the house over to her, free of charge? I'm sure they could have made some legal arrangement in which he could give her the house and he wouldn't have to pay anything. He just wanted the money the house would bring. His aunts paid for it their whole lives, and he's going to reap 100% of the profit. What a loser! but, he was not as bad as his wife. I think maybe he did feel a little bad, but his wife was just a B****! I wanted to punch her in the face!!

This segment made me cry. these women had such a beautiful love, and it is heartbreaking that such a love could not be openly celebrated, just like any other couple. it is so sad that Edith could not openly grieve, and be consoled for her loss just like any other person who lost their life partner.

As another person commented a will wouldn't have made much of a difference wills can be contested no doubt Abbie's family would've contested the will and questions will be raised about why Abbie gave Edith everything. Also if Abbie's family contested the will there is no way that Edith would've won. Also making a will would have raised questions about their relationship because someone would've had to witness the will and question why would you give everything to a friend

I was thinking that since they couldn't be legally married why not put the house in both their names?

They both paid off the mortgage so why not have the house in both their names?

This way it would have gone to the survivor no question, in my mind

Also, when the nurse at the hospital asked if she was any relation why not just say she was her sister? They surely wouldn't have checked up on it and she could have been with her friend to the end

And, the relations were jerks. Why call them so soon?

Why call them at all? Let them find it out in their own way and that way she wouldn't have had to deal with them so soon after the death

Just wondering