In Wilkerson v. McCarthy et al., Trustees, the United States Supreme Court dealt with a dispute over property rights and inheritance laws. The plaintiff, Mrs. Wilkerson, was married to her husband for 25 years before he passed away without leaving a will. His estate was left in trust to his siblings as per Utah law at that time which did not recognize the right of a surviving spouse to inherit if there were other living relatives and no will had been made out by the deceased party. Mrs.Wilkerson challenged this law on constitutional grounds arguing it violated her Fourteenth Amendment rights of due process and equal protection under the law because she was denied any share in her late husband's estate while distant relatives received benefits instead. The court ruled against Mrs.Wilkerson stating that states have broad powers when it comes to regulating matters related to family relationships including marriage, divorce, descent and distribution of property upon death; therefore Utah’s inheritance statute did not violate federal constitution.

In the dissenting opinion for Wilkerson v. McCarthy et al., Trustees, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a state law prohibiting non-residents from serving as trustees of religious organizations violated both the Equal Protection Clause and Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The dissenting justices believed that this law unfairly discriminated against out-of-state residents by denying them equal opportunity to participate in religious activities within their own faith communities. They also contended that such discrimination lacked any rational basis or compelling state interest, thus failing to meet constitutional standards for permissible differential treatment under equal protection principles. Furthermore, they asserted that this prohibition infringed upon individuals' fundamental right to freedom of religion by unduly restricting their ability to fully engage with and contribute towards their chosen religious institutions.