Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York
Probate Jurisdiction
A man and his wife own a home in New York. The wife dies and the man remarries. He and his new wife file in surrogate's court a joint will (supposedly irrevocable) leaving everything to the surviving spouse with the provision that when the second spouse dies everything is to be divided equally among both spouses children. The man dies. The wife sells the man's house (now her house) and moves to Florida. In her later years she is ill and lives her last year with her daughter in Maryland. When she dies in Maryland, which state has jurisdiction for probate?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Probate Jurisdiction
What is this a law school question.
Jurisdiction would depend on the domicile. Domicile is defined as "that place where the woman has her true, fixed and permanent home and principal establishment, and to which whenever she is absent she has the intention of returning." Blacks Law Dictionary.
If the decedent kept her place of residence in Florida, filed her taxes in Florida, and intended to return to Florida when she became better, Florida would have jurisdiction for probate.
However, if the decedent sold her home in Florida and resided in Maryland, then Maryland would have jurisdiction for probate.
Mike.
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