Why Della Was Able to Continue Living in the Castle after EA Died?

The quick answer is--because she owned it.

Della purchased the castle from Alessio Carraro—the purchase documents were in the name of Della Tovrea and her name only.  However, Arizona was a community property state, so although the castle was purchased in Della’s name, EA would have owned half.

      After EA died, during probate of his will, Phil Tovrea, representing he Tovrea Packing Company, was given an option to purchase the castle if Della ever decided to sell.  Apparently, this was a way for Della to be able to gain ownership of EA’s half of the property without having to purchase it from the estate.

     

      When Della died, her heirs were her sister Ima, and the three daughters of the sister that had predeceased Della.  The Tovrea heirs decided to exercise the option, and Della’s heirs challenged the option in court, since it allowed the Tovreas to purchase the castle for less than its appraised value.  In the first round, the Court found the option invalid, but the Tovreas appealed to the Arizona Court of Appeals, which overturned the initial ruling and declared the option valid.  As a result, the Tovreas paid $260,228.22 to Della’s estate to regain ownership of the castle, about half its the appraised valued at the time.