Ancillary Probate Series – Part 2: Geographical Issues

In the first post in this series, I laid out the initial question to ask about ancillary estates: did the decedent own property individually in more than one state?  This is much more common than some might think, especially along state borders or where several states are in close proximity.

I practice law primarily in Guymon, Oklahoma and the surrounding communities of Texas County – although I routinely work on legal cases in Cimarron County, Beaver County, throughout the Oklahoma Panhandle, and all across our great state.   I do not have exact state line distances, but from Guymon, you can drive to cities in other states as follows: a) the Texas line on the South side of Texhoma in 20 minutes; b) the Kansas line just before Liberal in under 40 minutes; c) the New Mexico line before Clayton in an hour and a half or so; and d) the Colorado state line in less than an hour and a half, although it would probably take that to get to Campo on the North side of Boise City.

Many people throughout the United States would have a similar story, as all of the 48 contiguous states border at least one other state, with many bordering multiple states or coming together in a way that multiple states are not far from each other.

It is also important to keep the “location, location, location” principle from real estate in mind.  Certain locations tend to draw people for various reasons such as vacation, work, and investing and increase the likelihood these people will own proper in multiple states.  Think of a beautiful vacation area, a bustling commerce center, or a developing oil and gas play, for example.

I will get into some more concrete examples of owning property in multiple states that I commonly see in the next post.

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This blog contains general information and the opinions of the author – not legal advice; you should seek the advice of competent counsel (attorney/lawyer) when considering any legal issues.