Matter of Ranftle

917 N.Y.S.2d 195 (2011)

From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Matter of Ranftle

New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division
917 N.Y.S.2d 195 (2011)

Facts

Craig Leiby (defendant) and Kenneth Ranftle were lawfully married as a same-sex couple in Canada. After marrying, the couple returned to live in New York. Prior to his death, Kenneth executed a will in which he made bequests to three brothers and a goddaughter. Kenneth left his residuary estate to Leiby and named Leiby as the executor of his estate. After Kenneth died, Leiby filed a petition to probate Kenneth’s will. The petition identified Leiby as Kenneth’s surviving spouse and sole distributee under the will. The Surrogate’s Court issued a decree granting probate of the will after finding that Leiby was Kenneth’s surviving spouse and sole distributee. The court found that the marriage was valid under Canada law, and that the marriage did not fall into either the natural-law exception or the positive-law exception to New York’s marriage-recognition rule. Richard Ranftle (plaintiff), Kenneth’s brother, intervened and filed a complaint to vacate the probate order. Richard alleged that the marriage between his brother and Leiby was against public policy because New York did not recognize same-sex marriages. The Surrogate’s Court denied Richard’s petition. Richard appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning ()

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 815,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership