## Facts

- Ella V. von E. Wendel died in 1931, unmarried and without children, leaving a very large estate and a will directing most assets to charitable purposes.
- An executor petitioned the Surrogate’s Court in New York County to admit the will to probate.
- The court’s authority to proceed depended on the decedent’s domicile at death, disputed between New York County and Westchester County.
- The executor provided notice to known relatives and gave public notice to unknown heirs and next of kin.
- More than 1,600 individuals appeared claiming kinship and an interest in the estate, including persons alleging close relationship and many asserting remote or unsupported connections.
- The proponents sought procedural relief requiring each claimant to set out, in detail and under verification, the facts supporting the claimed family relationship.

## Issues

1. Whether the Surrogate’s Court of New York County had probate jurisdiction based on the decedent’s domicile at death.
2. Whether, given the number of asserted heirs, the court could require each claimant to file a verified, detailed statement particularizing the claimed relationship as a prerequisite to participation.
3. Whether standing to appear and contest should be limited to lawful next of kin within the degrees recognized by New York law and supported by competent proof.

## Decision

- The court held it had jurisdiction to conduct the probate proceeding because the decedent was domiciled in New York County at death.
- The court ordered alleged heirs to file verified statements detailing the precise relationship claimed and the identifying facts necessary to test the claim (including connecting relatives and relevant life-event information).
- The court limited participation as interested parties to those who could adequately allege (and later prove) lawful kinship conferring a legally cognizable interest under New York succession rules.

## Legal Principles

- Probate jurisdiction in New York turns on the decedent’s domicile at death; ownership of property or maintenance of an additional residence does not alone establish domicile.
- Only “persons interested” have standing to appear and contest a will; claimed heirs must show a legally recognized kinship interest under the rules of descent and distribution.
- The Surrogate’s Court may regulate practice to manage extraordinary numbers of claimants and may require verified, particularized kinship statements to screen legally insufficient, speculative, or fraudulent claims.
- The burden of establishing kinship rests on the claimant; conclusory assertions of relationship are inadequate without specific lineage facts capable of proof.

## Conclusion

The Surrogate’s Court sustained New York County jurisdiction based on domicile and implemented a gatekeeping procedure requiring verified, detailed kinship statements, thereby restricting will-contest participation to claimants asserting a legally cognizable and supportable next-of-kin interest.


In re Wendel’s Will, 143 Misc. 480, 257 N.Y.S. 87 (Sur. Ct. N.Y. Cnty. 1932)