Martin v. Simmons First Trust Co.

Summary

The Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed the Union County Circuit Court’s determination that Arkansas was the proper forum for probate of Mary Ann Daley’s estate. The court held that Daley, who had been adjudicated incompetent before being taken to California, had not been shown to have acquired a California domicile because there was no evidence she had the capacity to form the requisite intent. A concurring opinion would have affirmed under Arkansas’s probate venue statute based on the location of most of the estate’s assets.

Holdings

1. Union County was a proper forum for probate because Daley remained domiciled in Arkansas at the time of her death; her temporary removal to California did not establish a new domicile.
2. The California identification card did not establish a change in domicile because Martin presented no evidence that Daley had the mental capacity to express an intent to make California her home.
3. The fact that Martin filed the California probate petition before the Arkansas petition did not determine the proper probate venue and did not validate the circumstances of Daley's removal to California.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Union County, Arkansas, was the proper venue for probate of Daley's estate even though Daley died in California and Martin claimed she was a California resident at death.
2. Whether Daley's stay in California and acquisition of a California identification card established a change in domicile or residence sufficient to defeat Arkansas probate venue.
3. Whether the California petition's earlier filing made California the proper forum for probate.

Disposition

affirmed