In the Matter of the Probate of the Will of Rudolf Heller-Baghero, Stefanie Heller, Appellants Theodore Mattern

Summary

The court held that the Surrogate had statutory authority to entertain original probate of a later will executed by a nondomiciliary because that will had not previously been admitted to probate or denied probate in the decedent’s domicile. The decision to exercise jurisdiction was a matter of ad hoc discretion, and the Surrogate did not exceed that discretion given the location of most estate assets in New York, the New York connections of the executor and a beneficiary, and the anticipated difficulty of litigating the later will in Austria. The order affirming dismissal of the objections was therefore affirmed.