## Facts

- The decedent, a New York resident, died intestate in July 2007.
- In May 2003, the petitioner and the decedent participated in a formal Islamic marriage ceremony at the petitioner’s brother’s home in Clifton, New Jersey.
- An imam traveled from New York to New Jersey to officiate the ceremony; no civil marriage license was obtained.
- After the ceremony, the couple returned to Brooklyn for a wedding celebration and lived together in New York as husband and wife until the decedent’s death.
- The decedent’s son from a prior marriage was issued letters of administration.
- The petitioner commenced a proceeding under SCPA 2205 to compel the administrator to account, claiming rights as the decedent’s surviving spouse.

## Issues

1. Whether New York or New Jersey law governed the validity of the parties’ marriage for purposes of New York estate administration.
2. If New York law applied, whether a marriage is valid despite the absence of a marriage license when the marriage was solemnized by clergy with witnesses.
3. Whether the petitioner had standing as a surviving spouse to compel an accounting, defeating dismissal under CPLR 3211(a)(3).

## Decision

- The Appellate Division affirmed the Surrogate’s Court’s order denying the administrator’s CPLR 3211(a)(3) motion to dismiss.
- The court held New York had the most significant relationship to the spouses and the marriage, so New York law governed marriage validity.
- Applying New York Domestic Relations Law, the court concluded the marriage was valid because it was solemnized, and lack of a license did not render it void.
- The petitioner was recognized as the decedent’s surviving spouse and thus had standing to compel an accounting under SCPA 2205.
- Costs were awarded payable by the appellant personally.

## Legal Principles

- When competing state marriage laws would yield different validity outcomes, New York may apply the law of the jurisdiction with the “most significant relationship” to the spouses and the marriage (Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 283).
- Under New York Domestic Relations Law §§ 12 and 25, a marriage is not void solely for failure to obtain a marriage license if the marriage was solemnized (i.e., the parties declared marital consent in the presence of clergy or a magistrate and witnesses).
- A person recognized as the decedent’s surviving spouse has standing to seek an accounting of an estate under SCPA 2205, and lack of such status supports dismissal under CPLR 3211(a)(3).

## Conclusion

The court applied New York law—based on New York’s strongest relationship to the parties’ marital life—to validate an unlicensed religious marriage that was solemnized with an imam and witnesses, thereby confirming the petitioner’s surviving-spouse status and standing to compel an estate accounting.


In re Farraj, 72 A.D.3d 1082 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dep’t 2010)