In re Cohn
England and Wales High Court of Justice
1 Ch. 5 (1944)
- Written by Curtis Parvin, JD
Facts
Max and Hedwig Cohn were German citizens who resided in Germany when they created a joint will on April 10, 1918. Their daughter, Gerda, was also a German citizen residing in Germany. Max pre-deceased Hedwig. Hedwig and Gerda died in a London air raid on October 14, 1940. The will provided that the estate would pass in equal shares to Max and Hedgwig’s children. The other children were Else and Siegried, who survived the air raid. The public trustee sought to determine whether English or German law applied to the will. English law provided that if the time of death of persons at issue was uncertain, the order of death was according to seniority. Under English law, Hedwig died before Gerda, and the estate would pass in three equal shares to Gerda’s heirs, Else, and Siegfried. German law held that when the times of death were uncertain, they were presumed simultaneous. Under German law, the estate would pass in two equal shares to Else and Siegfried as the only surviving children. In a proceeding before the public trustee, Gerda’s heirs argued that survivorship was a procedural issue for the law of the forum (England) to determine before turning to the law of the domicile (Germany) to interpret the will.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Uthwatt, J.)
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