Q: Regarding my will
I would am a resident of Pennsylvania and one of my sons lives in California. My accountant recommended that I add a clause stipulating the will be probated only in PA. What is the correct verbiage to do so? Thank you.
A:
Your accountant is not correct.
A Will must be probated in the state of residence of the testator at the time of the testator' death. Thus, if you reside in Pennsylvania at the time of your death, the Will must be probated here and you have no choice about that. In other words, you cannot include a provision to indicate a probate location.
A "sort of exception" to what I have just said arises if there is property, real or personal, located outside of Pennsylvania and for which death taxes may have to be paid. If that occurs, in addition to there being probate proceedings in Pennsylvania, there may have to be what is called an "ancillary administration" in the other state where property is located. Once again, this does not require a special clause in a Will. It is either required by law or it isn't.
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