Recognition of foreign estate fiduciaries and the enforcement of foreign estate determinations within the state of New York

Abstract The purpose of this article is to describe and explain the likely approach that a New York court will take with respect to recognizing the status of fiduciaries appointed under the laws of non-US jurisdictions and the extent to which a New York court will accept and enforce judgments concerning the inheritance of property in accordance with the laws of non-US jurisdictions. We first consider how New York’s approach to these issues must be viewed in the context of New York’s position as a state of the USA. We next consider the ways in which a New York court may assert jurisdiction over the inheritance of property of a decedent who was not domiciled in New York at the time of their death. We then consider the way in which the New York personal property of a foreign decedent may be distributed without court intervention and finally proceed to consider the rules for the administration of the New York property of a foreign decedent where court intervention is necessary and how such property may be distributed, especially when it passes to foreign beneficiaries.