Ohio bill to abolish dower

The Ohio General Assembly has begun hearings on a bill that would abolish the estate of dower in Ohio, HB 407.  You can check the status of the bill and read the current version here.  This is a welcome development that I support fully.  Since I began working in real estate title in 2001, I have encountered perhaps hundreds of instances in which dower caused a burden on a couple trying to buy or sell a property, created latent title issues requiring cure, made service in foreclosure cases difficult where marital status is unknown, and caused other, similar headaches for owners of real estate in Ohio.  Ohio is one of the few states that still recognize dower, and its abolishment is long overdue.