Legal Definitions - nonresident decedent

A nonresident decedent refers to an individual who has passed away but was not legally domiciled (meaning their permanent home) in a particular state or country at the time of their death, even though they may have owned property or assets in that jurisdiction.

When a person dies, their estate typically goes through a legal process called probate in the jurisdiction where they were permanently residing. However, if the deceased person owned assets in another state or country where they were not a permanent resident, those assets might need to be administered under the laws of that other jurisdiction. In such cases, the deceased is considered a nonresident decedent by that secondary jurisdiction.

Here are some examples:

• Interstate Property Ownership: Imagine a person whose primary residence and legal domicile were in Florida, but they owned a vacation condominium in North Carolina. If this individual passes away, their main estate administration (probate) would occur in Florida. However, for the North Carolina condominium, an additional legal process (often called ancillary probate) might be required in North Carolina. In this context, the deceased would be considered a nonresident decedent by the state of North Carolina because their permanent home was not there, even though they owned property within its borders.

• International Asset Holdings: Consider a citizen of Canada who lived their entire life in Vancouver, British Columbia, but had invested in shares of a U.S. technology company and maintained a U.S. bank account. Upon their death, their primary estate administration would take place in Canada. However, for the U.S. assets, the U.S. government and courts would treat them as a nonresident decedent. This distinction is crucial because it affects how those U.S. assets are taxed and administered under U.S. law, which has specific rules for non-U.S. citizens who own property in the United States.

• Domicile vs. Physical Location at Death: Suppose an elderly individual maintained their legal domicile in Oregon, where they had lived for decades and intended to return. However, they spent the last year of their life in a specialized care facility in Washington state and passed away there. Even though they died physically in Washington, if their legal intent and permanent home (domicile) remained in Oregon, Washington state would consider them a nonresident decedent for the purposes of estate administration. Any assets solely located in Washington might require specific procedures there, but their primary estate would be handled in Oregon.