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FOREIGN ESTATES
Section 1601. Legislative declaration of purpose. 1602. Ancillary probate based upon domiciliary probate. 1603. Effect of right to contest or of revocation. 1604. Ancillary letters on foreign will. 1605. Original probate. 1606. Proof of will by probate in non-domiciliary jurisdiction. 1607. Ancillary letters of administration. 1608. Ancillary letters generally. 1609. Petition; process. 1610. General powers and duties of ancillary fiduciary. 1611. Ancillary administration of estate of absentee. 1612. Effect of adjudication for or against fiduciary. 1613. Application of general law. 1614. Authentication of foreign will or letters. 1615. Record of will and letters recorded under former law. 1616. Application of article. S 1601. Legislative declaration of purpose It is the intent and purpose of this article that ancillary administration shall be granted in this state only when there is an actual administration in the domiciliary jurisdiction. If the law of such jurisdiction does not provide for the appointment of a fiduciary but vests the property of a decedent in a person or persons subject to the obligation to pay the decedent`s debts and expenses and the legacies bequeathed in his will or the distributive shares provided by law, such a person shall be recognized as the person acting therein to administer the decedent`s estate in accordance with the law thereof, but only if such person has complied with all the requirements of such jurisdiction to entitle him to receive the property of the decedent and is acting or will act there to administer the estate. S 1602. Ancillary probate based upon domiciliary probate 1. A written will which upon probate may operate upon any property in this state shall be admitted to probate by the surrogate`s court having jurisdiction over the property upon proof that it has been admitted to probate at the testator`s domicile or has been established in accordance with the law of such jurisdiction, and if its probate or establishment remains subject to contest under the law of his domicile, upon proof that it is not being contested thereat. A will so admitted to probate under this section is sufficient to operate on any property within the terms of the will, subject to any limitations upon its operation imposed by the law of the testator`s domicile in respect of legal capacity. Rights granted by the law of the domicile to take against the will are not affected by this section. 2. A will offered for probate under this section may be contested only upon the ground that the conditions prescribed herein have not been satisfied or that the will has been denied probate in this state. S 1603. Effect of right to contest or of revocation 1. If under the law of the testator`s domicile the probate or establishment of his will therein is subject to contest within a time specified after probate or establishment, no property shall be transmitted to the domicile or distributed to beneficiaries under the will during such period of time unless the court which granted ancillary probate authorizes such transmission or distribution upon proof that (a) 7 months have elapsed since the issuance of ancillary letters in this state, (b) a contest of the will is not pending in the testator`s domicile and (c) either the time provided in the domicile for the institution of a contest has expired or one year has expired since the will was admitted to ancillary probate under this article. 2. An ancillary fiduciary who transmits assets to the domicile or distributes to beneficiaries in good faith and pursuant to an order or decree under subdivision 1 shall be discharged from any liability even if the probate or establishment of the will at the domicile is thereafter set aside or revoked for any cause whatever. S 1604. Ancillary letters on foreign will 1. Upon admission of a will to probate under 1602 the court shall issue, if such be requested, ancillary letters to the following persons in the following order: (a) The person expressly appointed in the will as executor with respect to property located within this state. (b) The person to whom domiciliary letters have been issued or if domiciliary letters are not issued, the person appointed in the will to administer all property wherever located. (c) The person acting in the domiciliary jurisdiction to administer and distribute the testator`s estate. (d) A person entitled under this act to letters of administration c.t.a. 2. If no person named in any subparagraph of subdivision 1 is willing to qualify or to designate a person eligible to receive ancillary letters they shall issue to a person in the succeeding subparagraph of such subdivision who will qualify or to a person designated by him who is eligible to receive letters. S 1605. Original probate 1. A will of a non-domiciliary which upon probate may operate upon any property in this state and is deemed by the laws of this state to have been validly executed for probate in this state, may be admitted to probate in the same manner as any other will may be admitted to probate under this act, except as herein otherwise prescribed. 2. A will which has been admitted to probate or established in the testator`s domicile shall not thereafter be admitted to original probate in this state except (a) in a case where the court is satisfied that ancillary probate would be unduly expensive, inconvenient or impossible under the circumstances, (b) where the testator has directed in such will that it shall be offered for probate in this state or (c) where the laws of testator`s domicile discriminate against domiciliaries of New York either as a beneficiary or a fiduciary. 3. A will which by judgment or decree of a competent court in the testator`s domicile has been denied probate or establishment shall not be admitted to probate in this state except where the denial of probate or establishment is solely for a cause which is not ground for rejection of a will of a domiciliary testator. S 1606. Proof of will by probate in non-domiciliary jurisdiction In the case of original probate of the will of a non-domiciliary testator an authenticated copy of the will and of its probate or establishment in the jurisdiction in which the will was executed shall be sufficient proof of its contents and of compliance with the law of the place of execution, if no objection is made thereto. If objection to the probate of such a will is filed this section shall not relieve proponent from offering competent proof of the contents and legal sufficiency of the will except that the original will need not be produced unless directed by a court. S 1607. Ancillary letters of administration 1. Upon petition as provided in 1609 and upon proof that letters of administration of the estate of a decedent have been issued by a competent court in the decedent`s domicile or upon proof that under the law of that jurisdiction letters of administration are not granted but that a person is acting in that jurisdiction to administer the decedent`s estate in accordance with the law thereof, the court may issue ancillary letters of administration. In a case where the court has theretofore issued original or ancillary letters or there is pending before the court an application therefor, the court shall take such proceedings as justice requires. 2. The court shall issue ancillary letters of administration to the following persons in the following order: (a) The person appointed administrator in the domiciliary jurisdiction or the person acting in that jurisdiction to administer the decedent`s estate in accordance with the law thereof. (b) A person entitled to original letters of administration under this act. 3. If no person named in any subparagraph of subdivision 2 is willing to qualify or to designate a person eligible to receive ancillary letters they shall issue to a person in the succeeding subparagraph of such subdivision who will qualify or to a person designated by him who is eligible to receive letters.
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S 1608. Ancillary letters generally 1. A person acting in the decedent`s domicile as executor or administrator or to administer the decedent`s estate in accordance with the law thereof may by an acknowledged instrument designate and authorize the appointment of a person eligible to receive letters to act as ancillary administrator or ancillary administrator c.t.a. If conflicting designations or joint plural designations are made or if two or more persons are entitled jointly to letters under this article the court may appoint one or more of the persons so designated or one or more of the persons so entitled. 2. A person to whom ancillary letters are issued must qualify in the same manner as prescribed in this act for the qualification of a fiduciary except that the penalty of the bond may be in such sum as to the court seems just, unless the will dispenses with the filing of a bond by the fiduciary named therein, in which case the court may dispense with the filing of a bond by the fiduciary so named. 3. In any case where the court is satisfied that there is no creditor of the decedent who is a domiciliary of this state and that no estate tax is assessable in this state, ancillary letters may issue without bond. Before issuing such letters without bond, however, the court may require that supplemental process issue, directed generally to all creditors or persons claiming to be creditors who are domiciled in this state and that it be served by publication unless such process had theretofore been served in the proceeding. 4. All of the provisions of this act relating to eligibility to receive letters shall be applicable to appointments made under this article. 5. Before granting ancillary letters on any application therefor the court may require the petitioner or any other person seeking such letters to serve by mail a written notice of the application upon every domiciliary beneficiary who has not been served with process or has not appeared in the proceeding for ancillary letters or waived service of process therein. Such notice shall be in the form prescribed in 1005 if the application be for ancillary letters of administration or in the form prescribed in 1409 if the application be for ancillary letters testamentary or ancillary letters of administration c.t.a. and shall be served in accordance with the applicable section. 6. Any corporate banking institution of any state of the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, territory or possession of the United States not entitled of right under the banking law to receive such letters may nevertheless be authorized by the court to receive such letters upon filing such bond as the court may require. S 1609. Petition; process 1. A petition for ancillary probate or for ancillary letters of any kind may be made by any creditor, public administrator, county treasurer or person interested or to whom letters may issue under this article. The petition shall state all of the decedent`s property in this state and the value thereof, the amount of the security given on the original appointment, the name and post-office address of each domiciliary creditor or each domiciliary claiming to be a creditor and the amount of each claim so far as it is ascertainable. 2. If ancillary letters be requested, process shall issue to the state tax commission, to all domiciliary creditors or domiciliaries claiming to be creditors and to such other persons entitled to letters or to designate an appointee as the court by order directs. The court may issue process generally to all creditors or persons claiming to be creditors who reside within the state, who shall be served in such manner as directed by the court. 3. If petitioner prays for ancillary probate of a will but does not ask that ancillary letters be issued, it shall be unnecessary to issue any process except to the state tax commission. S 1610. General powers and duties of ancillary fiduciary 1. The provisions of law governing the rights, powers, duties and liabilities of a fiduciary apply to a person to whom ancillary letters are granted under this article except where a special provision is otherwise made or where a contrary intent is expressed in or plainly to be inferred from the context. 2. The court or any court of this state having jurisdiction may direct a person to whom ancillary letters have been issued to pay from the assets received by him in this state the debts of the decedent due to creditors who reside in this state. If the amount of all the decedent`s debts here and elsewhere exceeds the amount of all the decedent`s property applicable thereto the court may direct the ancillary fiduciary to pay such sum to each resident creditor as equals that creditor`s share of all distributable assets. 3. The court or any court of the state having jurisdiction may direct the ancillary fiduciary to distribute the remaining assets after the payment of creditors and expenses to those entitled thereto or to otherwise dispose of the assets as justice requires. 4. Unless a court shall direct the ancillary fiduciary to distribute the assets as provided in the preceding subdivisions he is required to transmit the remaining assets to the state or country where domiciliary letters were granted to be disposed of pursuant to the law thereof. S 1611. Ancillary administration of estate of absentee If it appears that the foreign probate or the grant of foreign administration was based upon the disappearance or absence of the person on whose property ancillary letters are sought under circumstances as to afford reasonable ground to believe that he is dead process shall issue to the disappeared or absent person and shall be served upon him by publication. It shall also be served upon the public administrator of the county or if there be none, upon the county treasurer. If it appears to the satisfaction of the court from the foreign probate or grant of administration or from such other proof as it may require, that such person be dead, it may make a decree determining that fact and granting ancillary administration as prescribed in this article. S 1612. Effect of adjudication for or against fiduciary A prior adjudication rendered by a court of competent jurisdiction for or against an estate fiduciary shall be as conclusive as to the ancillary fiduciary in this state as if he were a party to the adjudication unless it resulted from fraud or collusion of the fiduciary to the prejudice of the estate. This section shall not apply to an adjudication in another jurisdiction admitting or refusing to admit a will to probate. S 1613. Application of general law Except where special provision is made otherwise, the law of this state relating to wills and to the probate, contest and effect thereof shall apply in the case of a non-domiciliary testator and the law and procedure of this state relating generally to administration and to fiduciaries shall apply to ancillary administration and ancillary fiduciaries. S 1614. Authentication of foreign will or letters In any case in which a foreign will or letters are required to be proved under this article, the will or letters shall be authenticated in the manner prescribed by the CPLR. S 1615. Record of wills and letters recorded under former law The record in the court or an authenticated copy of the record of any will recorded pursuant to section 44 of the decedent estate law prior to the effective date of this act shall be presumptive evidence of the will, of the execution thereof and of the letters granted thereon in any action or special proceeding relating to real property. The record in the court or an authenticated copy thereof shall be presumptive evidence of a petition for letters of administration and of the letters granted thereon recorded pursuant to section 44 of the decedent estate law prior to the effective date of this act. S 1616. Application of article This article shall apply only to the wills and estates of non-domiciliaries.