Guelman v. De Guelman

Summary

The Florida Third District Court of Appeal affirmed a probate court's determination that the decedent's marriage, entered into in Bolivia in 1971, was valid and that the decedent and his wife were domiciled in Florida at the time of his death. The court relied on presumptions favoring the validity of marriage and the correctness of a trial court's interpretation of foreign law when supported by expert opinion.

Holdings

1. A trial court's interpretation of the law of a foreign country will be sustained when it is consistent with the interpretation given by an expert on that foreign law, even if the expert's opinion is disputed.
2. A marriage is presumed valid, including when the marriage was performed in a foreign jurisdiction.
3. The probate court did not err in finding that the marriage was validly entered into in Bolivia in 1971 and that the decedent and his wife were domiciled in Florida at the time of the decedent's death in 1976.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the probate court properly interpreted Bolivian law in determining that the decedent's 1971 marriage was valid.
2. Whether the probate court properly determined that the decedent and his wife were domiciled in Florida at the time of the decedent's death.

Disposition

affirmed