Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Nevada

Is probates in 2 states necessary?

Grandma died in Las Vegas after spending about a year living with an uncle. But she lived in Glendale for almost 35 years. She was sick during the end of her life, so the chances of her returning to Glendale was remote.

What is considered her residence, California or Nevada? And where should she file a petition for probate. There was no personal property, only a home in Glendale. If the petition puts down Nevada as a residence, will it be necessary to file a probate there even though there is NO personal property. The dead certificate says the residence is in Las Vegas. We're thinking that putting down California as a residence would be simpler since the only property is the home in California. Someone said something about Ancillary Probate. Would it get more complicated if we put down Nevada as residence on the California probate, which would be required no matter what? The house is going to be sold during probate, so we don't want any complications.


Asked on 9/08/08, 7:36 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Janet Brewer Law Office of Janet L. Brewer

Re: Is probates in 2 states necessary?

Residence/domicile is one of those "slippery" concepts in the law. In order to determine it, you need to look at a number of factors: for example, where was your grandmother registered to vote (if she was registered)? If she was registered to vote in California, when did she last vote there? Did she change her registration from California to Nevada? Did she have an "intention" to return to Glendale when she got better? Did she refer to California as her home, or did she say she had "moved" to Nevada with the intent to remain there? What did she list as her permanent address on her income tax returns (federal & state)? Did she file a California income tax return? Etc.

There are a number of other questions, but, frankly, as long as the Petition for Probate lists her permanent place of residence as California and no one objects to that, a court isn't going to care much about where she happened to be when she died - otherwise, if a California resident were on an extended vacation to New York & happened to die there, it would be necessary to file a probate in both New York and in California - clogging the judicial system.

If you need assistance with the probate, please let me know. I handle probate cases throughout the state.

http://www.calprobate.com

This information is not intended to substitute for professional legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. You should accept legal advice only from a licensed legal professional with whom you have an attorney-client relationship.

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Answered on 9/09/08, 11:34 am


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