What is the current state of the law on forfeitures in the absence of a spouse who killed their spouse?

The one California case considering an analogous situation takes a different approach to accommodate the conflicting rule against forfeitures and policy against profiting from a wrong. In Johansen v. Pelton, 8 Cal.App.3d 625, 87 Cal.Rptr. 784, the court dealt with conflicting claims of heirs of a husband and wife to joint tenancy property where the husband killed the wife and immediately thereafter committed suicide. Its solution was 'to impress a constructive trust on one-half of the (former joint tenancy) property held by the . . . slayer (as surviving joint tenant) . . . in favor of the heirs or devisees, other than the slayer, of the slain joint tenant.' (8 Cal.App.3d at p. 630, 87 Cal.Rptr. at p. 788.) The court thus declined to forfeit the '. . . slayer's preslaying inchoate right to one-half (of) the property . . ..' (8 Cal.App.3d at p. 635, 87 Cal.Rptr. at p. 792.)