Opinion ID: 1175509
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: situs of property

Text: Appellee contends that the California probate is conclusive as to the validity and effect of the will for the ancillary administration [3] of the Wyoming mineral estate. We disagree. Wyoming has been faced with this conflict of laws dilemma previously and held for many years that the lex loci rei sitae controls as to real property within this state. Justice Blume exhaustively examined this subject in In Re Ray's Estate, 74 Wyo. 317, 287 P.2d 629, 633-34 (1955) (quoting Annotation, Decree of Court of Domicil Respecting Validity or Construction of Will, or Admitting it or Denying its Admission to Probate, as Conclusive as Regards Real Estate in Another State Devised by Will, 131 A.L.R. 1023, 1026 (1941)) and summarized the situation: Subject to statutory provisions to the contrary, express or by construction, and a few cases to the contrary, some of which are explainable on statutory grounds, it may be stated generally that the great weight of authority favors the rule that a judgment or decree of a court of a decedent's domicil passing (expressly or by implication from admission to probate) upon the validity or construction of his will, devising real property in another state, is not conclusive as to that question, so far as it concerns such real property, in the courts of the other state, either upon parties or nonparties to the proceeding in which the judgment in the former state is rendered, whether considered under the full faith and credit provision or the doctrine of res judicata or estoppel by judgment or upon general grounds as to conclusiveness of judgments. Consequently, for over forty-five years it has been settled law that the devolution of real property in this state and the effect of the decedent's will must be determined by the laws of this state. In Re Ray's Estate, 287 P.2d at 635. See also Rivermeadows, Inc. v. Zwaanshoek Holding and Financiering, B.V., 761 P.2d 662, 667 (Wyo. 1988); Matter of Miller's Estate, 541 P.2d 28, 33-34 (Wyo. 1975); In Re Estate of Gibbs, 73 Wyo. 425, 280 P.2d 556, 559-60 (1955); and In Re Smith's Estate, 55 Wyo. 181, 97 P.2d 677 (1940). Justice Brown, dissenting in Matter of Estate of Harrington, 648 P.2d 556, 575 (Wyo. 1982), concisely explained that [t]he rule exists because it is particularly important that there be certainty, predictability and uniformity of result and ease in the determination and application of the law to be applied concerning transactions of land. An ascertainment of Wyoming law reveals that clearly through common law, Wyoming has adopted the lex loci rei sitae principle. Although not considered by either party in brief, that universal rule has been statutorily addressed by W.S. 2-6-104 [4] which provides: The meaning and legal effect of a disposition in a will is determined by the law of the state in which the will was executed, unless the will otherwise provides or unless the application of that law is contrary to the public policy of this state otherwise applicable to the disposition. The Reed will was executed in California without any provision stating which law should be applied; thus, California law must be examined to determine how real property located in California devolved under a foreign probated will would be treated. Our detour through California law need only be brief because California recognizes the lex loci rei sitae controls as to real property without any statutory modification. See In Re Estrem's Estate, 16 Cal.2d 563, 107 P.2d 36, 38 (1940); In Re Reynolds' Estate, 217 Cal. 557, 20 P.2d 323, 325 (1933); In Re Bowditch's Estate, 189 Cal. 377, 208 P. 282, 283 (1922); Muth v. Educators Sec. Ins. Co., 114 Cal. App.3d 749, 170 Cal. Rptr. 849, 854 (1981); Thatcher v. City Terrace Cultural Center, 181 Cal. App.2d 433, 5 Cal. Rptr. 396, 407 (1960); In Re Brace's Estate, 180 Cal. App.2d 797, 4 Cal. Rptr. 683, 686 (1960); and In Re Estate of Patmore, 141 Cal. App.2d 416, 296 P.2d 863, 865 (1956). Consequently, with California law and Wyoming law substantially the same  the law of the situs of the real property controls  it is not necessary to pursue a further analysis of W.S. 2-6-104 nor determine if the public policy of Wyoming would be violated. Douglas v. Newell, 719 P.2d 971, 981 (Wyo. 1986); Matter of Estate of Campbell, 673 P.2d 645, 647 n. 3 (Wyo. 1983). See Lipe v. Lipe, 728 P.2d 1124 (Wyo. 1986) for consideration of foreign jurisdiction interpretation of its own law. Historically, California was the source of much of the early Wyoming statutory law on probate as 1890 Wyo. Sess. Laws ch. 70. See Rice v. Tilton, 14 Wyo. 101, 82 P. 577 (1905).