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White v. Tennant, 31 W.Va. 790, 8 S.E. 596, 13 Am.St.Rep. 896

Facts

Michael White, who had lived in West Virginia, sold his farm and intended to move with his wife to a rented house in Pennsylvania. On April 2, 1885, he moved his belongings to the Pennsylvania house, intending to make it his permanent residence. However, after arriving, he and his wife went to stay with relatives for the night due to her illness. Michael fell ill and died before he could return to the Pennsylvania house, leading to a dispute over the distribution of his estate.

The material facts in the case at bar are as follows: Joseph S. White, the father of the plaintiffs and Michael White, died intestate in Monongalia county, seised of a tract of about 240 acres of land, of which about 40 acres lay in Greene county, Pa., but the whole constituted but one tract or farm.

Issue

Whether Michael White had established his legal domicile in Pennsylvania at the time of his death, thereby determining the applicable laws for the distribution of his personal estate.

The sole question presented for our determination is whether the said Michael White, at the time of his death, in May, 1885, had his legal domicile in this state or in the state of Pennsylvania.

Rule

The law of the state in which a decedent had his domicile at the time of death governs the distribution of his personal estate. A change of domicile occurs when a person abandons their former residence with the intention of making a new residence their permanent home.

It is admitted to be the settled law that the law of the state in which the decedent had his domicile at the time of his death will control the succession and distribution of his personal estate.

Analysis

The court analyzed the facts surrounding Michael White's move to Pennsylvania, noting that he had sold his West Virginia residence and intended to make the Pennsylvania house his home. Despite his temporary absence due to illness, the court found that his intention to establish domicile in Pennsylvania was clear and that he had taken steps to do so by moving his belongings and family there.

The facts in this case conclusively prove that Michael White, the decedent, abandoned his residence in West Virginia with the intention and purpose not only of not returning to it, but for the expressed purpose of making a fixed place in the state of Pennsylvania his home for an indefinite time.

Conclusion

The court concluded that Michael White's domicile was in Pennsylvania at the time of his death, and thus the laws of Pennsylvania controlled the distribution of his estate. The decree of the circuit court was reversed.

It follows, therefore, that that house remained his domicile up to and at the time of his death; and, that house being in the state of Pennsylvania, the laws of that state must control the distribution of his personal estate, notwithstanding the fact that he died in the state of West Virginia.

Who won?

The plaintiffs prevailed in the case as the court ruled that the laws of Pennsylvania governed the distribution of Michael White's estate, which favored their claim.

The administrator settled his accounts before a commissioner of said county, and distributed the estate according to the laws of West Virginia; that is, by paying over to the widow the whole personal estate remaining after the payment of the debts of the decedent.

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