## Facts

- Jeanne Renard, born a French citizen in 1899, lived and worked in New York for about 30 years and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1965.
- She later returned to France and reestablished domicile there; at death she was domiciled in France.
- She retained substantial intangible personal property in New York (about $320,000) and also owned an apartment and personal property in France.
- While in France, she executed a will that expressly provided it would be governed by New York law, named New York executors, and contemplated administration of the New York property under New York supervision.
- Under the will, her adult son, Philip Renard, received the French apartment and its contents plus a $6,000 legacy; other legatees received $15,000 total; the residue went to a French charity and a French friend.
- The Surrogate’s Court admitted the will to probate in New York and restrained distribution pending further order.
- After probate, executors sought approval to distribute under the will; Philip objected, claiming French forced-heirship law entitled him to one-half of the estate, including the New York-situs intangibles.

## Issues

1. Whether French forced-heirship law governing a decedent domiciled in France controls distribution of New York-situs intangible personal property notwithstanding a will selecting New York law.
2. Whether New York should refuse to apply foreign forced-heirship rules where doing so would defeat the testator’s expressed intent and conflict with New York’s succession policies.

## Decision

- The court denied the son’s objections seeking a French-law forced share in the New York-situs intangible personal property.
- The court held that New York law governed distribution of the New York assets under the probated will.
- The court approved the executors’ proposed distribution in accordance with the will.

## Legal Principles

- Although succession to personal property is often linked to the law of the decedent’s domicile at death, New York applies an interest-based conflicts analysis that considers the situs, administration forum, and the testator’s expressed expectations.
- A clear testamentary choice-of-law clause selecting New York law, together with substantial New York contacts and administration by New York fiduciaries, supports applying New York law to New York-situs intangibles.
- Foreign forced-heirship rules for adult children are treated as statutory limits on testamentary freedom, not as property rights that New York must enforce against New York-situs assets.
- New York’s policy favoring testamentary freedom (subject to limited statutory protections such as spousal rights) may justify declining to apply foreign compulsory heirship rules that would override a New York-oriented estate plan.

## Conclusion

The Surrogate’s Court authorized distribution of the decedent’s New York-situs intangible assets under New York law and the will’s express choice-of-law provision, rejecting the adult son’s attempt to impose French forced-heirship rules on property administered in New York.


Matter of Renard, 108 Misc. 2d 31, 437 N.Y.S.2d 860 (Sur. Ct. N.Y. Cnty. 1981)