Will of real estate may be governed by the law of the situs of the property rather than the decedent’s domicile at death
The traditional rule is that title to real property is determined by the whole law of the situs of the property, meaning both the substantive law of the situs and its choice-of-law rules. Thus title is determined by whatever law would be applied at the situs. This rule has been rejected in some cases in recent years because personal property on death is determined by the law of the domicile of the decedent and if different rules are applied to real property located elsewhere and personal property, the decedent’s wishes may be ignored or perverted. However, many courts adhere to the traditional rules as occurred in In re Estate of Latek, 960 N.E.2d 193 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012), a court at the decedent’s domicile (Illinois) refused to accept a will for failure to comply with Illinois will execution requirements but the court in Indiana (where the property was located) refused …