Decedent in Same-Sex Marriage Had Changed Domicile from Florida to New York, Despite Will to Contrary

A New York appeals court rules that a partner in a same-sex marriage changed his residence from Florida to New York before his death, despite the existence of a will identifying him as a Florida resident. In re Ranftle (N.Y. App. Div., 1 Dept., No. 9321 4585/08, July 2, 2013).

In 1990, H. Kenneth Ranftle and J. Craig Leiby began living together as domestic partners in New York City.  Mr. Ranftle owned a house in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and in 2003 he changed his domicile to that state because of tax benefits, although he regularly commuted to New York to be with Mr. Leiby. In March 2008, Mr. Ranftle was diagnosed with cancer.  From then until his death later that year, Mr. Ranftle lived with Mr. Leiby in their jointly-owned New York City condominium. 

In May 2008, New York State began recognizing same-sex marriages that had been validly contracted in other jurisdictions.  On June 7, 2008, Mr. Ranftle and Mr. Leiby married in Montreal, Canada.  Their Canadian declaration of marriage stated that their “domicile after the marriage” would be their New York City apartment. After the marriage, Ranftle took further affirmative steps to establish residence in New York.  On August 12, 2008, Mr. Ranftle executed a new will.  Unfortunately, rather than drafting a will from scratch, his attorney revised the word processing file for Mr. Ranftle's prior will, executed while he was a Florida resident, and the new will still recited Florida as his domicile.  

Mr. Ranftle died suddenly on November 1, 2008, in New York City. When Mr. Leiby, as Mr. Ranftle’s executor, petitioned for probate of the will in New York, one of Mr. Ranftle’s brothers filed a petition claiming that the probate court lacked jurisdiction over the estate's personal property because Mr. Ranftle was a resident of Florida when he died. The Surrogate’s Court dismissed the brother’s petition, and he appealed.

The Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, affirms, holding that Mr. Leiby met his burden of proof in showing that Mr. Ranftle changed his domicile from Florida to New York in the months prior to his death. A dissent finds insufficient evidence that Mr. Ranftle intended to change his domicile to New York.

For the full text of this decision, click here.

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