In re Estate of Riso

BY JUDGE JAMES W. HALEY, JR.

The conflicts of law issue here for resolution is whether the class of beneficiaries of the proceeds of a wrongful death claim are to be determined under the law of Virginia or that of New York.

The facts may be succinctly stated. Louis Riso, a resident of Stafford County, Virginia, was killed in an automobile accident in New Yode State on April 18, 1996. He was survived by his second wife, Kathryn Rose Riso (“Kathryn”), also a resident of Stafford, and two grown non-financially dependent children of a prior marriage, Daniel R. Riso, a resident of New York, and…