Farmers and Merchants Bank v. Woolf
New Mexico Supreme Court
86 N.M. 320, 523 P.2d 1346 (1974)
- Written by Mary Phelan D'Isa, JD
Facts
Farmers and Merchants Bank of Las Cruces, New Mexico (plaintiff) filed a declaratory action in a New Mexico state court to determine the rights of parties to the balance of the trust estate of Mabel Evelyn Jones. The testatrix was domiciled in Arizona, which is also where the main probate proceeding was held. Ancillary probate proceedings were held in New Mexico, which is where the trustee was located. The legatee of the trust property—Alcoholics Anonymous of San Antonio, Texas—was a foundation organized under the laws of Texas, which is also where the trust was to be administered. Under Texas law, the provision for the foundation was valid; under Arizona law, it was invalid. The trial court upheld the provision for the foundation under Texas law. The decision was appealed, and the administrator of Mabel’s deceased brother argued that the law of Mabel’s domicile should have applied because her estate consisted entirely of personal property.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Montoya, J.)
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