In re the Probate of the Will of Sawyer

The jurisdiction of the Surrogate’s Court of Delaware County is challenged on the ground that the decedent was not a resident of Delaware County at the time of his death. The word “ resident ” as used in section 45 of the Surrogate’s Court Act means “ domicile ” rather than the ordinary concept of “ residence ”. Such a construction is necessary for the avoidance of conflicting claims of jurisdiction in different counties, for one can have but one ‘ ‘ domicile ’ ’ although having two or more residences (Matter of Stone, 135 Misc. 736; Matter of Green, 99 Misc. 582). In the final analysis,…